Remembrance...to each their own.
Every year around this time, there is a lot of discussion in the media about war veterans, their stories of survival and the sacrifices that they made for our country.
Having a communications background, I can't help but get upset with the media when I wake up this morning to hear the lead story on Ottawa radio was the fact that a recent study showed that Canadians can't recall accurately any war facts.
This angers me... my grandfather was a war veteran, he fought for his country, he fought for Canadian citizens, and although I can't recall who was in charge of the military during World War II, I do know that he paid a service to this country, and on remembrance day this is what I remember. This is the piece of information that I will pass on to my children, and this is what they will pass onto their children, and on remembrance day when I take a moment of silence, I won't be upset that I can't recall what year World War I took place, I will silently think of my grandfather, his life, and how special he was to me: that is what I classify as REMEMBRANCE.
I realize that the knowledge of war history by Canadians citizens decreases every year... and the fact is that if we want to remember an important part of history, we have to take the responsibility to do so... to read about the war, to educate ourselves; HOWEVER, as decades pass, I think it is unrealistic to think that all Canadians will recall vividley war events that took place 50 odd years ago.
We may not be able place war events in chronological order, but I am sure this year, we will recall the many soliders who recently lost their lives during the battle in Afghanistan, including female solider Nichola Goddard (hard to forget her story). These are the current events that Canadians recall... and this is what my generation remembers, the events of today.
To the agenda setters of today's media I would just like to say, lay-off. Canadians do remember the significance of November 11th. War-veterans in our country do not need to hear that they have been forgotten. Each veteran is remembered, and although he can't be individually identified by Canadian citizens, his contribution to our country is recognized, honoured, and remembered.
Having a communications background, I can't help but get upset with the media when I wake up this morning to hear the lead story on Ottawa radio was the fact that a recent study showed that Canadians can't recall accurately any war facts.
This angers me... my grandfather was a war veteran, he fought for his country, he fought for Canadian citizens, and although I can't recall who was in charge of the military during World War II, I do know that he paid a service to this country, and on remembrance day this is what I remember. This is the piece of information that I will pass on to my children, and this is what they will pass onto their children, and on remembrance day when I take a moment of silence, I won't be upset that I can't recall what year World War I took place, I will silently think of my grandfather, his life, and how special he was to me: that is what I classify as REMEMBRANCE.
I realize that the knowledge of war history by Canadians citizens decreases every year... and the fact is that if we want to remember an important part of history, we have to take the responsibility to do so... to read about the war, to educate ourselves; HOWEVER, as decades pass, I think it is unrealistic to think that all Canadians will recall vividley war events that took place 50 odd years ago.
We may not be able place war events in chronological order, but I am sure this year, we will recall the many soliders who recently lost their lives during the battle in Afghanistan, including female solider Nichola Goddard (hard to forget her story). These are the current events that Canadians recall... and this is what my generation remembers, the events of today.
To the agenda setters of today's media I would just like to say, lay-off. Canadians do remember the significance of November 11th. War-veterans in our country do not need to hear that they have been forgotten. Each veteran is remembered, and although he can't be individually identified by Canadian citizens, his contribution to our country is recognized, honoured, and remembered.
posted by SC at 12:33 PM
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