Monday, November 11, 2019
Remembrance Day 2019.
Today in Canada is Remembrance Day, a time to remember all the people who served our country past and present. I can't imagine what it must have been like during war time or even within the last twenty years being sent overseas to war in a foreign country. I know it's not the same but hunting season used to be crazy when I was younger, there were all these idiots from the cities that used to come out in groups of twenty, get completely drunk for days on end... and then go out shooting at everything. Fortunately that has stopped now but I can remember the uneasy feeling of hearing gun shots close to the house. I can't imagine being in a war, the feeling of knowing someone is out there actually trying to shoot you, trying to kill you. I think the bravery of those men and women is beyond belief.
It always makes me sad and very angry when I hear the horrible stories that many tell. Angry because some men at the head of some state.. somewhere, decide that not only do they want to dictate what happens in their own country, they want to spread their warped wisdom to other countries. In making this decision they sentence some poor farmers, construction workers, office workers, everyday people to die, often in horrible ways.
I heard that year over year, a larger percentage of Canadians take part in the memorial services, that's comforting to hear. Many people said they wanted to take part because they want a chance to show their appreciation, especially to the WWII veterans who sadly will soon no longer be with us.
When I think of how things could have turned out, even regarding myself, imagine being gay in a world where the Nazis had won, not just me, image being a person of color or a different religion, scary. It's feels like not enough but I definitely need to say THANK YOU and not just for back then, that Nazi way of thinking keeps raising it's ugly head over and over in different forms and the truth is diplomatic meetings won't stop it.
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10 comments:
A touching post Steven. We were made so welcome in Hamilton last year when we came to pay our respects to our grandfather. Wonderful too, to see the graves so neat and tidy.
There are no winners in war.
I second christina's last sentence.
The best way people can honour the memory of veterans is to fight against what they fought against -- right-wing behaviour, intolerance and racism. This is more important than wearing any number of poppies.
Christina, yes I remember that, I'm glad you were pleased with how it went.
Anne Marie, yes sadly that is true.
Debra, unfortunately those people probably think they are doing the right thing.
It takes a special individual to put themselves in harms way. Military, police, fire fighters, other first responders. The chosen few are strong beyond belief.
And as Lurker said, medical professionals, teachers and social workers also deserve our respect and gratitude. They are on the new front lines. Violence in the schools, cities and hinterland is becoming unbearable.
So take a minute out of your busy day and give thanks for all the brave souls out there.
HuntleyBiGuy, I agree with you however this is a special day. Especially when you think of the two world wars, those were mostly ordinary people who made sacrifices, people need to realize the difference between a person who chooses a career that is dangerous but that's what they want, to a person who goes into a dangerous job as a service, both are courageous but one didn't choose it and yet they were thrown into it.
Yes, Steven, that is the point: we use these boys as cannon fodder. How many of them make a conscious, rational decision to go into the military as a career? We prey on them (in particular poorer kids) with false promises of adventure, we brainwash them into committing acts that in any other context would be criminal, and then we tell them they are doing good because they have advanced our geopolitical goals, and then we break our promises to care for them for the rest of their lives. Veteran's Day is nothing more than a recruiting tactic celebrating war, and it is utterly hypocritical. I used to think these celebrations had some nuance, that they were actually commemorating the horrors of war, but I no longer believe this.
It is completely false that we do not elevate being a soldier above everything else. Look how much difference it makes whether a politician "served" or not.
Ugh. I am going to stop here before I get banned again. Celebrate if you want, but understand that this celebration creates a system that produces more traumatized soldiers, not fewer.
But how would they feel if we just did nothing. We can't just say, "well too bad you lost your legs, suck it up, you went over there not me".
Anyway, these points you are making have merit and I agree with some, so thanks for putting more context to what you were trying to say. The first comment seemed harshly cold.
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