Remembrance Day is supposed to be an unsettling, uncomfortable day. Interrupting the normal pace of work or school is the whole point, for the interruption drives home the fact that the democratic society we enjoy came about, and is maintained, by the efforts and sacrifice of our veterans. That’s why November 11 is a day like any other; tribute is best paid from amidst our daily routine, at the places and with the people we have been given the opportunity to work and live in society with. For the sake of those who served, let’s not have the moment of silence punctuated by the snoring of holiday sleepers.
War has changed, but loss has not. Though armies no longer lose tens of thousands of troops in a single battle, as was ludicrously common in the First World War, our highly mechanized soldiers still face danger every day. Most readers will at least know of a friend of a friend who is stationed in Afghanistan or Iraq this month, and for whom this time of reflection and thanksgiving has a special poignancy.
We do not give thanks for war; indeed, those who argue that the day glorifies war aren’t paying close enough attention to the ceremonies, and don’t really listen to those who’ve fought and returned to tell the story. These stories, by and large, are not filled with chest-pumping bravado, but usually with tight-lipped modesty. Veterans, by and large, have taken from their war experiences a distaste for the whole exercise, and, like most people, express regret that we as a species haven’t evolved past it.
Not all moments of remembrance are connected to the military, either. While there are moving ceremonies at Soldiers’ Tower and at the colleges, the quiet “24 Hour Reading of the Names” at the Wolfond Centre for Jewish Campus Life, where a solitary reader intones the names, dates and execution sites of Holocaust victims into a microphone, is a compelling reminder that every casualty of war, uniformed or otherwise, has an identity and a story. Remembrance Day is, at heart, about remembering these strings of life cut prematurely short, and paying tribute to courage.
We can pay tribute with thoughts and prayers, but one seemingly easy way to do so seems to have been avoided this year, if a quick scan of lapels on campus and in the subway reveals anything. Is it really that inconvenient to pay a dollar for a poppy to support veterans’ care and programs, especially in this, the Year Of The Veteran? What is that-eighty dollars over a lifetime, paid out in loonies, in exchange for the society we enjoy? The hardships faced by those actively engaged in or affected by war make our problems laughable in comparison; after all, writing a tough paper is really, literally, nothing compared to clearing a machine-gun nest.
This awareness is not designed to make us feel guilty for using and enjoying what we in Canada have been blessed with; that would negate the sacrifices old and new. We are encouraged this week simply to remember why we have our abundance. Our work and study should never seem irrelevant, nor should we feel somewhat wanting in comparison to the young men and women who answered the call of duty. But the names inscribed under Soldiers’ Tower should provide us with a little perspective, and that never hurts anybody.
