Lest We Forget (because many are)

Today is November the 11th. Around the world, we honour our veterans, past and present, on this day. At least, we are supposed to -- one of the reasons I'm skeptical of the day, is that far too often we only pay lip service to what our soldiers have died for, and are still risking their lives for.

We as people, are way too complacent about who leads us. We are either willing to accept creeping dictatorships, or so exasperated with elections that we'd rather not vote at all, than take a stand ourselves.

Despite their frequent use of soldiers as props, our politicians very often neglect and abandon our veterans once they come home from the wars started in our nations' capitals -- far too many of our veterans live as little more than vagrants, often thanks to the same people who demand we support our troops unconditionally.

So take a few moments to think about that -- not just today, but every other day. I don't care how you remember, or when you remember, but I do care IF you remember. The only reason we still have any freedom at all, is because of these soldiers, yet far too often we are making that sacrifice meaningless.

Lest We Forget

Tomorrow is Remembrance Day in Canada, and Veterans Day in America. I fully intend on pausing for silent reflection, at 11:00 if possible, and if I encounter any veterans in the next little while, I will thank them personally for the sacrifices they made. However, that is just about all that I will be doing. I respect the veterans plenty, but past a certain point taking part in these rituals just seems like going through motions.

My view on things like flag pins, ribbons, and poppies is that while they probably started out as meaningful symbols, the fact is that any monkey can wear them. You know that saying, "Actions speak louder than words"? The same thing applies here. I make donations to the Royal Canadian Legion when I get the chance to, because I think that making sure our veterans are taken care of, and can teach their legacy to the next generation, is more important than wearing a glorified button just because people expect you to.

For the record, my immediate family does not have any military experience that I am aware of, but that does not mean I was not affected by the various wars Canada has been involved in. My grandmother and great-aunt both had to flee their home, during The Blitzkrieg in The Second World War. Several of my friends have had grandparents fight in World War II and/or Korea, and friends of my parents have a son who fought in Desert Storm. So anyone who completely ignored what I just said, and thinks that I'm somehow blind to what the military has done, really doesn't know what they're talking about.

This brings me to a pet peeve that I've had ever since 9/11, namely the accusation that someone who doesn't support their country's soldiers is unpatriotic or a traitor. Not only is that statement extremely defamatory, but it holds no water whatsoever. I support our soldiers just fine, but anyone who's read these blogs for a while knows that I definitely don't support the government, nor do I have much confidence in where this country may be heading nowadays. That's not treason, that's caring enough to try to fix this country's problems. In my mind, that's patriotism, not blindly accepting everything that Ottawa or Washington does.

I also find statements like If You Don't Stand Behind Our Troops, Feel Free to Stand In Front of Them, flat out disgusting. One of the things that our soldiers have supposedly fought and died for, is our freedom to speak out in any form, never mind against our government. Besides, the fault in this statement is that it assumes that if you're against conflicts like the war in Afghanistan, then you are, again, against the troops fighting it. I can't speak for everyone, but personally my beef is with whoever decided to go in there in the first place, given that all we are doing is replacing one group of fundamentalist warlords with another. Oh, and by the way, why hasn't anyone been that concerned with finding the guy who "officially" put us there in the first place? Remember him?

Ok, that got a little off track, but I trust my point is clear. Just because you won't likely see me wearing a flag pin or a poppy, doesn't mean that I don't care about my country, or its soldiers. I just exercise my right as a Canadian citizen to care about both in my own way. I encourage all of you to do so in your own way, too. Speaking of which, if any veterans, past or present are watching this video... thank you, on behalf of all of us. Enough said.