Remembrance Day is an annual occasion to reflect on our past and the sacrifices that were made by previous generations to fight for the freedoms that we enjoy today.
While we may not always agree on political issues, including conflicts that Canada has been involved with, we can put those differences aside and, at the very least, pay our respects to the men and women who bravely served their country, either in the world wars, Korea, Afghanistan, or various peacekeeping missions that have taken place since the end of World War II.
Since entering the journalism profession nearly two decades ago, I have covered many Remembrance Day ceremonies, with each one being a powerful symbol of people honouring Canadian military veterans both past and present. I reported on the most recent Remembrance Day observance, which took place at the McGrane #28 branch of the Royal Canadian Legion in Lac La Biche, under cold, bleak skies. (See Page 22 for coverage.)
I have also studied, in detail, the history of the world wars and how they shaped our modern world. In the aftermath of WWII, the US and Great Britain set about to create a global order that would be characterized by stability and peace. Japan and Germany evolved into modern democracies and have become some of our closest friends and economic partners - as have many other countries over the past 80 years.
While there have been numerous conflicts since 1945, we have been able to avoid global conflicts on the scale of those fought by our ancestors. However, with emerging authoritarian regimes posing a threat to world peace, many people are pondering if we could once again find history repeating itself.
While I try to remain optimistic that cooler heads will prevail, and world leaders will be able to use diplomacy and other measures to achieve their goals, history tells us that this is not always possible and sometimes a catastrophe is unavoidable.
Putting those fears aside and in keeping with the theme of ‘Lest We Forget,’ we must never lose sight of the work that was done by those who came before us to ensure that we as a modern Western society can function in relative peace and order.
