A day of remembrance

War will always be with us. Try as we may, there is always some individual or group who wants to dominate others. War is deadly. It maims and takes the lives of the innocent, as well as the soldiers who willingly fight for their countries. From a rational perspective, we should all desire and support a peaceful and orderly world.

Most of those who are 60 years old or less only know the ravages of war from a theoretical perspective. Most of them have only observed the cruelty of war through their television screens. They haven’t heard the cries of pain, felt the terror, smelled the smells of battle or experience the sudden death of comrades. They are totally separate from the reality of war.

Through previous generations, many went off to war as a duty to their country. In recent times, most were motivated by a desire to stop an obvious evil. The Second World War saw many give up their lives to stop an extreme evil. The likes of Hitler’s Nazis or the Japanese were truly something to fear, and bring an end to. If strong opposition was not mounted, they would have dominated the world.

There are very few veterans of those awful days still with us. They are the last of thousands who gave up years of their lives to ensure that we would continue to live in a free and democratic society. We, the following generations, are the beneficiaries of their sacrifice. Our lives would be very different if they had not risen to the occasion.

During this week before Remembrance Day, November 11, we should each take time to honour those who fought for our freedom. Their sacrifice is the very foundation of the freedom we currently enjoy.

Unfortunately, the busy lives we lead leave little time to pause and reflect on our good fortune. As the years pass, we have fewer of those who can convey the memory of the brutality of war with true personal emotion. The younger we are, the less likely we are to know anyone, through friends or family, who personally experienced the terror of the Second World War.

We all wish for a world of peace, but there always seems to be some who wish to enslave us to their own particular belief or lifestyle. Cruel and unrelenting, they are bullies. Often, the only way to preserve peace is to stand up to the bullies. That takes courage on the part of ordinary men and women.

Fanatics with a lust for power seem to be always with us. If they are allowed to be victorious, our lives will become the lives of passive slaves. As idealistic as we may wish to be, bad things will happen if the good people do nothing.

Those thousands of men and women, who willingly fight on our behalf, do so because they believe in preserving that which is right and just. They sacrifice their time, and too often their lives, to keep the rest of us safe from all that could limit our rights, our freedom and the security of peace that we have enjoyed for the last three generations. November eleventh is our day of remembrance for all those who bravely fought to preserve our future. It is the one and only time each year that is specifically designated for us to pause in respect for the effort and sacrifices they made. It is a time to reflect upon what they gave up, so we could have more.

Their price was high, and the debt must be acknowledged.

Wear a poppy with pride and remembrance. Take time at the 11th hour, on the 11th day of the 11th month, to pause and sincerely thank all of them for the gift they have given.

Victor Bowman was born in Vanderhoof and raised in Prince George. He returned to this city to live 33 years ago and currently operates a consulting business. Please direct comments c/o editor@pgfreeprress.com

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