Quote:
Originally Posted by Fan in Exile
Aside from the whole issue with Cherry, one of the reasons I want nothing to do with Remembrance Day is because of false tropes like the one about our soldiers sacrificing their lives to bring Canada to where it is today.
First of all, this is a day commemorating the armistice for World War I. We were dragged into that senseless war as a colony, and largely used as fodder as were other colonies. Read Owen and Sassoon instead of Flanders Field. Let's remember, as Armistice Day was intended to cause to remember, that WWI was meant to be the war to end all wars because it forced us collectively to recognize the senselessness and nihilism of military conflict. So let Remembrance Day be a sombre reflection, not a glorification of the military.
Soldiers did not win our way of life in Canada. We were certainly involved in a just war in WWII but nothing about our way of life, our constitution, our rights or our freedoms were won by soldiers.
While I'm on the topic, let's celebrate public service. All on board. But I am not on board with celebrating and extolling the military and the police above all others. The irony is that those who are so vocal about extolling those forms of service tend to trash other public servants.
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Remembrance Day is a somber day.
It is a day full of emotions, you can't pin one emotion to that day.
Some have survivor guilt, some have overwhelming loss, some have a sense of not doing enough, the emotions are many and varied.
On a personal note I struggle with it, I hate how it makes me feel.
But nobody has a sense of glorification.