Something to Remember

            Or at least something to think about. After all, I'm not here to tell you what to think. I'm here to tell you what I think. It’s entirely up to you to decide if you agree with me.

            Remembrance Day has been a bee in my bonnet since (I believe) 2007, when I discovered that the day no longer meant what I was brought up to believe.

            I'm not familiar with what November 11^th represents in other countries, but here in Canada we call it Remembrance Day. Regardless of the country, though, the day marks the end of the first World War in 1918. I was taught – by my parents, in school and in church – that this was the day where we paused to remember how terrible war is. Even though we had never seen the war, we were taught about all the death, pain and suffering caused by the world wars. We were taught to be thankful to those who fought and lost so much.

            The reason we were taught all of this was to pass on one message to us: Don’t let it happen again. Remember. Remember what happened and don’t make the same mistakes. Do not let it happen again.

            That’s what I was taught, or at least how I interpreted it, and it’s what I still believe. The whole point of Remembrance Day is to pass on the stories so that we know to avoid wars in the future. It’s especially important as, more and more, we’re able to destroy the planet with our weapons.

            So, in 2007, my mother (a minister) was doing a joint Remembrance Ray service with another church. Normally I wouldn't have been there, as I'm not a church regular, but this time I was singing a solo – “Last Night I Had the StrangestDream” by Simon and Garfunkle. It is a song that supports the view of November 11^th that I described above: celebrating and remembering the end of wars. That was also the theme of the entire service with the exception of one thing. A poem.

            Now, as it turned out, my mother was sick on the day of the service and unable to attend – otherwise she probably would have stopped this poem. She told me afterwards that no one had known the theme of this poem in advance; someone had just asked if they could read it. She also learned at her weekly ministers’ breakfast that this poem had been read at every other church in town, always presented in the same way without anyone knowing what it was about.

            This poem said the exact opposite of everything the service was about. It was about the glories of battle and how heroic and wonderful it is to fight in war. It was outright propaganda.

            The same year, a street not too far from my home was renamed to “Veterans’ Memorial Parkway” and I've heard that this also happened across the country.

            From that day on, just about everything I've heard about Remembrance Day has been about hero-worshipping veterans. Telling people how glorious it is to go to war. I've even read that the Canadian Legion, which holds a trademark on the poppy, have been pressing charges against people using it to support peace.

            Now I have to ask myself, how has this happened? This is Canada. We’re known throughout the world as being nice, polite and peace-loving. Yet, suddenly, our day for remembering the atrocities of war so we can promote peace has become a day about the glories or war.

            We’re told over and over again to be thankful to the people who fought for our peace and freedom. I’ve always felt that the best way to thank them is by not throwing away more lives. I also have to wonder, how many of the veterans who are still alive from the World Wars are in favour of this hero-worship? Because it seems to me that, by making the day about them, we belittle what they fought for.

            It’s such a great disappointment to me that this day has degraded so much. Wouldn't it be wonderful if Remembrance Day became entirely about promoting peace? Especially if that ideal spread world wide? It may not end all wars, but it would sure cut down on them.

            Oh yeah, I forgot that it won’t happen because war is good for the economy. And money is far more valuable than lives.

            There, my real-world issues ranting is done for a while. Next week, we shall return to the usual happy-go-lucky randomness.

Click here to find the charity anthology containing a couple of my short stories.

If there's any subject you'd like to see me ramble on about, feel free to leave a comment asking me to do so.