Nov. 10, 2006 - Remembrance Day
Tomorrow is Remembrance Day. Sadly, it falls on Saturday this year, and I fear that this will mean that it will go largely unnoticed. I hope this fear will be proved unfounded. Attending a Remembrance Day Ceremony should be the highest priority for every Canadian Citizen tomorrow morning. Here are a few reasons why I believe this, and why we will be at our local ceremony with our children.
It has been 87 years since the Allies signed the Armistice agreement that ended WWI. Few remain who remember the Great War, and even fewer who fought in it. Although our current Remembrance Day memorials were designed to commemorate the end of WWI, occurring at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month, when today's citizens gather to remember, most think of WWII.
But it has been 61 years since the end of WWII, and fewer and fewer of today's citizens remember this conflict. Fortunately Hollywood took up the gauntlet for awhile and produced movies that would enable us to see just a glimpse of what WWII was like for those who fought - and for those who stayed at home. Movies seem to be the way to reach today's highly visual generation, so it is good that we have these memorials-on-film. And I will admit that war movies do move me greatly. We recently viewed the series "Band of Brothers" and I was touched by the first-hand accounts actual war veterans gave at the end of each episode. It would be a callous heart that could really grasp what those men went through FOR US and not be deeply moved.
Those who really do appreciate the sacrifice of those men in their effort to save us from the tyrannical rule of a mad man will be present tomorrow morning at a ceremony in their community. Those who are not present must not truly understand.
The first reason we should attend a Remembrance Day Ceremony is to honour those who gave so much so that we can be free.
With so few left to remind us of the sacrifices they made for our freedom, it is even more important now that we take our children to these events so that they can see for themselves how important it is to acknowledge that our freedom came with a price.
The second reason to attend a Remembrance Day Ceremony is to pass on to our children the value of their freedom and the knowledge that it came with a price - a very high price. And that it is worth fighting for.
Today we have many men and women deployed to foreign lands to protect the freedom we take for granted every day. Much is made in the media about the horrors of war, but very little is said of the horrors that occur when no one steps in to protect those who are caught in a world of unrest and tyranny. With no one willing to wage war on their behalf, these people would live in fear and horror without hope.
Those living in
Yes, some die in war. It is a sad eventuality in armed conflict. But how many more would die without war? Peace comes at a cost, and so does freedom. If you understand this, and believe that peace and freedom are worth fighting for, then be at a Remembrance Day Ceremony tomorrow morning to show your support to those serving
Our attendance at a ceremony tomorrow will speak volumes to the families of these courageous men and women, who wait patiently for their son or husband or father or wife to come home, hoping and praying that they WILL come home. Imagine how encouraging it is to them to see the support of their country by record numbers attending these ceremonies, which now honour their loved ones as well as the soldiers of the past. Imagine how alone and frustrated they would be if no one came. Their loved one may not come home. Some have already died in active service. They have gone to fight for you. The least you can do is to spend an hour honouring their commitment to the freedom of your country.
And that is reason number three: Show your support and gratitude to those presently serving, and the families who wait for them at home. It is the least we can do.
Winston Churchill said it best. He spoke specifically of the men who flew in the Battle of Britain, but I believe it is true of all those who fight for freedom. "Never have so many owed so much to so few."
I hope you'll join me at tomorrow's parade. It would be a travesty to stay at home.
