Remembering

[ValleyGal]

A political rant... sort of.

Today is what Canada has always called "Remembrance Day." We have cadets who stand at big box store entrances, selling felt poppies for donations. I buy a poppy every year and after the day is over, I place it on the sup-side of my passenger visor. There are 12 poppies on there as of this year, in remembrance of my grandfather and great-uncle, who both served in WW II. Remembering their service and the sacrifices of their comrades is important to me. Our country may not have the human rights and freedoms we do, had it not been for their service and sacrifice, even to death or the possibility of death. Hmm. Just realized that's exactly what it means to love someone as Jesus did - service and sacrifice even to death - but, I digress...

I was looking up "open" hours for an insurance agent for tomorrow because it's the stat to replace today. But all over the internet, they call today "Armistice Day." Having no idea what Armistice means, I had to look it up. It's when both parties in a war decide together to cease fire, at least for one day.

Well now I want to rant! I want to gather the troops and citizens alike, organize protests, start a petition and campaign against this change in names! I do NOT celebrate armistice!! That would mean a thing of joy, of peace, of relief. It would mean celebration.

I do NOT celebrate today! Instead, this is a very somber and serious day, when I, along with the rest of Canada, mourn those lost in war, heartfully feel the weight of so much death and the grief of their families back home, and remember the men and women whose blood made our country what it is. We do not celebrate the triumph of armistice; instead we reflect on the tragedies of war itself, how it so gruesomely exposes the ugly part of human nature, that killing another could even be something within even a kind person's heart. It brings us face to face with our own mortality so we are forced to examine our own beliefs about the hereafter.

I do not celebrate armistice! Instead, I remember.

 

[Albion]

I believe, though, that the idea is to remember all the things you want remembered--on the occasion of the armistice. It is not a celebration of the signing of the armistice or of peace itself.

If you consider the observances that take place on this day, I believe you will see that the sacrifices made by the soldiers, the cause for which they fought, and all of that is really what is being remembered. In countries where it is called Remembrance Day, that is

The fact that it is also called Remembrance Day in Canada and elsewhere is commendable, but in the USA they changed the name of the day to "Veterans Day," which IMHO really does separate the day from the war that is supposed to be remembered, just as was the case with Memorial Day. So now we have two de facto veterans' days with no particular wars being recalled and no differentiation between those who served with honor and those who gave their lives.

 

[ValleyGal]

Yes, we do remember at our services, though bringing about a new name makes me worried that when those who can remember WW II are gone, the younger ones will only be left with celebration of armistice. I do see on the news and in the schools that there is a concerted effort to get the next generations involved in "remembering". Each year, there are select students who go to Flanders Field and Vimy Ridge (WW I), and some are sponsored for a trip to Germany, etc. So there are efforts to remember our ancestors and their sacrifices. I just hope for the next generations that they will not "forget". When we forget, then history repeats itself.

We should not distance ourselves from the true meanings of the days. Yes, I can see it happening in the US as well - except for the ex-in-laws, who are very much service-oriented in the navy.

 

[Albion]

One more thing. It was originally called Armistice Day, I believe, and that term will always point to WW1.

 

[ValleyGal]

Interesting. I had no idea the term was originally Armistice Day. I hope they don't return to that. I prefer remembrance...and that it includes both WW I and II.

They showed my Grandpa's and Uncle's pictures at the service in my hometown. So proud of them!