I'm self-conscious about posting this topic:  Memorial Day 2012. I have conflicting feelings.

The holiday originated after the Civil War as a remembrance of men and women who died in military service. (Although now it's evolved into a day where we honor deceased relatives, whether or not in the military).

If I post pretty pictures of a ceremony that honors those who were in the military, am I, in a way, justifying war?

That's a question my pacifist, peace activist, strongly anti-war friends might ask me. I don't want to offend them.

On the other hand, my photos will not offend friends who will see the pictures as patriotic, honoring those who served our country. These friends might actually be offended by my hesitation to publish patriotic pictures.

Personally, I'm becoming more of a pacifist, more disturbed that our country - and the world - spends so much on the military and so little on understanding aggression and seeking peace. At the same time, I feel a sense of honor and gratitude toward those who served in the military.

These are contradictory feelings in me. I'm conflicted. However, I'm still publishing the pictures because they are an interesting visual record of an event. That's the photo-journalist part of me. I like to tell stories with photos.

Perhaps someday I'll post a story on peace activists ... and risk offending my patriotic friends.

To see more photos of the Memorial Day event and the cemetery, click here. The cemetery was the Minneapolis Pioneer and Soldiers Memorial Cemetery, Cedar Avenue and Lake Street.

To read about the cemetery's interesting history, click here.