Does Remembrance Day Mean Anything To You in 2021?

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e point of horrific deaths. They felt called to protect generations to come, me included, to believe whatever the hell we wanted to believe. Those protectors of peace, our soldiers.</p><p id="be4d">I can not imagine the kind of courage and conviction it took to raise your hand and say, “I volunteer to dive into the violence of war and sacrifice myself for the greater good. We’ve been backed into the corner by a mad man and the only way to protect our safe and beloved way of life is by throwing ourselves over the grenade of authoritarianism to avoid further catastrophe.” I can not imagine.</p><p id="8160">Pacifism is perfect in theory, and then I read the news. I feel like throwing up my hands and saying what’s the point? This again? The same bloody cyclical mistakes. Will we ever learn? Is there any way out of the destructive web humanity has woven so tightly that it’s all in knots?</p><p id="e4df">In history, some of our protectors include those that genuinely believed in active Pacifism. There were some who insisted we could somehow find common ground on both sides to work towards peace-making. I believe we need fighters from both categories of war and peace.</p><p id="1187">So I hold this day, <b>Canadian Remembrance Day</b>, as a sacred special day. A time to reflect on how we got here, to never take for granted what we have, an

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d to find constructive ways to rail against those who still want to destroy it.</p><h2 id="36f9">Lest We Forget</h2><p id="27be">I hope, dear Reader, you will take a moment — just one moment of your day — and try to imagine what kind of courage it took to protect what we almost didn’t win.</p><p id="04d3">The Allies did not win WWII quickly or easily. Our “team” risked everything for our piece of democracy. Will we continue to fight for it or just give in with apathy?</p><p id="aaf3">Thank you for reading! Become a Medium member today for full access to all stories and essays on Medium! (If you do so using the link below I even get a tiny piece of commission!)</p><div id="47aa" class="link-block"> <a href="https://bigskylife.medium.com/membership"> <div> <div> <h2>Join Medium with my referral link - Eira Braun-Labossiere 🌻</h2> <div><h3>As a Medium member, a portion of your membership fee goes to writers you read, and you get full access to every story…</h3></div> <div><p>bigskylife.medium.com</p></div> </div> <div> <div style="background-image: url(https://miro.readmedium.com/v2/resize:fit:320/0*FggbbLywb9dPBg-7)"></div> </div> </div> </a> </div></article></body>

One Canadian’s short reflection on war and peacemaking.

To my knowledge, I have no veterans on my side of the family.

The culture I was born into held a long-standing core belief in Pacifism and so would deny their call to arms. Hence, they would move from country to country, getting kicked out (or worse) for their nonconformance, and this stems back since about the time of 16th-century Anabaptists.

Somewhere around 1900, my ancestors landed in Canada. I have hung on to their belief in Pacifism but I recognize how easy it is for me to say this since my Pacifism has never actually been tested.

I would like to acknowledge that I am in the privileged position of holding this high ideal because those that came before me fought to the point of physical and emotional injury and so very many to the point of horrific deaths. They felt called to protect generations to come, me included, to believe whatever the hell we wanted to believe. Those protectors of peace, our soldiers.

I can not imagine the kind of courage and conviction it took to raise your hand and say, “I volunteer to dive into the violence of war and sacrifice myself for the greater good. We’ve been backed into the corner by a mad man and the only way to protect our safe and beloved way of life is by throwing ourselves over the grenade of authoritarianism to avoid further catastrophe.” I can not imagine.

Pacifism is perfect in theory, and then I read the news. I feel like throwing up my hands and saying what’s the point? This again? The same bloody cyclical mistakes. Will we ever learn? Is there any way out of the destructive web humanity has woven so tightly that it’s all in knots?

In history, some of our protectors include those that genuinely believed in active Pacifism. There were some who insisted we could somehow find common ground on both sides to work towards peace-making. I believe we need fighters from both categories of war and peace.

So I hold this day, Canadian Remembrance Day, as a sacred special day. A time to reflect on how we got here, to never take for granted what we have, and to find constructive ways to rail against those who still want to destroy it.