'Lest We Forget' ...Oh Let Us Remember

On November 11 of every year we take time to remember the souls of those who died for us, for our freedom and those who live with the horrors of surviving. It is a day marked on our calendars, but many in this country are forced to work on that day. Many are given the option by their employers to work and take a lieu day later, or to exchange it for another and have a long weekend instead. This day is a day of commemoration, not celebration. It is a day to reflect, pay homage and say thank you. What do we say to our children when we don’t honor this memory? If one stranger offered his or her life for mine, I would be forever in their debt. But, one stranger did not sacrifice all for freedom in this lifetime, thousands did. Interestingly, no blood has been shed on Canadian soil since the war of 1812 but thousands of Canadians have lost their lives fighting for domestic security and the peace of other nations since that date. Canadian service men and women have served this country and the world with impeccable deportment, the least we can do is bow our heads in humble gratitude for two minutes out of one hour, on one day, once a year. So much speculation exists today about why the young people are so angry, disrespectful and anti-everything! They are not in actuality, but what examples do they follow, what exposure are they provided? Children and youth follow the strongest influences in their lives. If the media is their babysitter and nurturer then we can expect scenes from the most influential movies to be replayed in their actions. Think of the men and women who influenced your life, hopefully they were in the flesh and not celluloid. If you are saying I raised my children or I don’t have children so it isn’t my responsibility, you are mistaken. Society raises children, not the parents alone. We are all responsible for the way they perceive the world around them. If we circumvent history for the sake of a long weekend, we also forfeit the opportunity to lead by example, for our own children and societies’ children. Why do we forget, even when we say, ‘lest we forget‘, year after year; are we equivocating due to lack of education, apathy or arrogance? Children learn what they live, what are our children living? Am I advocating war? No absolutely not. The purpose of remembering is to enable us to learn from the past and not repeat the same grievous, heinous sins of those days. Remembering will not happen if we have no memory. We must read and talk to those who were there, those who suffered, no matter how painful it is to hear their stories. We must make a conscious effort to take their memories and make them our own. We need to identify with the human beings just like us, with husbands, wives, mothers, fathers and babies who loved them and lost them. Glorifying war and terrorism only desensitizes our young so that, sticking a knife into another, or shooting another or beating another is the same as eating one of those sugar cereals, just another scene from television. If you are an employer, think about the message you are sending your employees, think about why and how you are able to conduct the business you do in this country. If you are an employee, decide whether it is worth it to stand up and say, ‘no, I will not work on this day of remembrance’. If you are a survivor of war, please do not keep your memories to yourself, the price is so high and paid for by so many ! If you are a youth, ask questions and listen to the answers, watch successful people around you. I mean truly successful people not only affluent people! We really must learn to remember, lest we forget… C.Whelan Costen