(no subject)

[felis_ultharus]

So it's Remembrance Day - a day to remember all the naive kids who went off to the meat-grinder of two World Wars, without any real idea what they were getting into.

In the US, it's a shopping holiday. In Canada, it's a solemn event. We wear poppies and gather at cenotaphs to remember the dead, and talk about trenches and No Man's Land fenced off with barbed wire, and a generation of kids whose fathers didn't come home. Increasingly we talk about the things in World War II that can't be forgotten either - Nazism and the Holocaust first and foremost.

True remembrance can only serve the cause of peace. Maybe that's why this country was so committed in those two wars, and so reluctant since to go to war - maybe this yearly ceremony is part of that reluctance.

This year I'm thinking especially of the gay veterans never compensated for what they went through, in two World Wars. I hope the apology I proposed goes somewhere, but it seems every reporter wants to talk to a World War II vet over this, and it's too late for most of the victims in that war.

The apology should still come, though, while there's still a few around to hear it.

Comments

[em-fish.livejournal.com]

My favourite teacher of all time, Mr. Thorn, would organize an annual assembly for Remembrance Day. He would track down the stories of alumni from my school who had gone off to war, and make them into a slide show presentation. His passion for the subject and the immense respect he had for the people who served, shone through every year.

Once I asked him in class; "How do we show the honour and respect we have for our veterans, without glorifying war - I mean, where is the line?"
He thought about it for a moment, then said; "I don't know."

He was awesome.

[felis-ultharus.livejournal.com]

It's true. But at the same time, I spent a lot of time a couple of years ago poring over World War II experiences at Dieppe. Once you get down to battlefield level, nothing seems glorious and it seems like something to avoid at all costs.

One thing that's got me annoyed lately is that Harper's been trying to turn Remembrance Day into a pro-military exercise. There's no real memory in his speeches, though, just buzzwords.

[esprix.livejournal.com]

We do our fair share of rememberance here, too...

[felis-ultharus.livejournal.com]

I know. But on the radio and on the internet, Americans who've lived in both countires have been expressing surprise. We shut down half our shops and all our federal agencies, and hold ceremonies in every town and city. The ceremonies are becoming more popular again, after falling off for some years.

The whole week on the radio and TV, we talk about the two World Wars.