11.11.11 It's not a day or a moment...it's a lifetime of sacrifices that were made and a lifetime that I shall be thankful and remember

Highway of Heroes - The Trews

11.11.11
I don't think that this day can pass without considering the significance of the date. Some see luck in days like this. I spent a life time hearing about Remembrance Day being recognized on the 11th day of the 11th month at the 11th hour. Today everything lined up and at 11:11 this morning the radio stopped their regular programming and I stopped to reflect. 

I am not going to jump over the fence and suggest that Remembrance Day should become a National holiday again like it was when I was growing up. Having grandparents and other relatives who served in a World War it was expected that while you didn't attend school, you most definitely attended services at the Cenotaph and more than likely a church service as well. It was not regarded as a day off to sleep in or hang with your chums...at least not in the morning. My fear is that today with fewer families having heard first hand the experiences of war that Remembrance Day would lose even more of its' significance as students given a day to attend community services would find other ways to occupy their time off. I would rather schools themselves put more effort into the education students in all grades and of all ages about the significance of Remembrance Day, the Poppy (and how to wear it properly) and the Poppy donation boxes. Even if only for one day...surely we can make that effort!

But in reality, it is not a day or a moment that we should pause, but rather a lifetime that we should remember to be grateful for the freedom that we have at the expense of people we do not know. Today we hear an individual name on the news of someone who has paid the ultimate price in our peacekeeping missions in countries far from our own. We see the motorcades making their way along the Highway of Heroes. Are we becoming desensitized to it all...to death?

I never heard a lot of stories about my grandparents experiences during the war. But an experience in my youth affected me deeply when it comes to Remembrance Day. I don't know what that was however. A veteran speaking at a service I attended perhaps. What I do know is that I cannot make it dry-eyed through a commemoration. In fact I was escorted out of a church by an usher because I got so emotional one year. It has been said that I am overly-sensitive period and this is just another manifestation of it. Perhaps. But today, I am even more saddened by what I see as apathy toward the significance of the day. Shoppers continue to shop, fewer people wear the Poppy, and the theft of Poppy donation boxes is happening with increased frequency. 

I am opposed to war, killing and conflict. To my minds eye it happens all to often with a murky line declaring a winner. Reality is we all lose. Particularly today when some countries go to war not because they are threatened but rather putting innocent lives in the line of fire for a cause that no one really understands. 

Why is it okay to bear arms and head for a country on the other side of the world to fight because your government doesn't agree with their government. On a smaller scale is this not similar to turf wars engaged in by gangs in our own communities. Where did they learn that fighting and weaponry is the way to get what you want? Is this the example we want to lead by? If you agree, I can almost guarantee that you will be as moved as I by many of the songs composed by Chris de Burgh on the subject. The following is just one example. 

Borderline - Chris de Burgh

"These are only boys and I will never know how men can see the wisdom in a war"

Ironically with the immigration that Canada has experienced from people fleeing political persecution and seeking personal freedom, you would think that these immigrants would want to pause and thank the veterans who made that freedom they have come to Canada to enjoy.