Remembrance Day

Do you find it easier to have a set remembrance day, or do you remember on your own? With Canadian troops in Afghanistan, and the UK and US troops in Iraq, I find it hard to believe we are remembering the true effects of war. Maybe one day a year is not enough - maybe we need to be reminded of the effects of war on a daily basis, like in Ypres. Maybe then we will go to all lengths to avoid another war.

Remembrance Day in Canada feels so far removed from anything my generation can relate to, yet I am still caught up in the act and the emotion. However, I do not know the true effects of war, so what I am remembering is a picture in my head of how I think I should feel, a picture of what I believe war to be. The wars going on now are so removed from my space that it does not affect my daily life - but maybe it should. Perhaps we are all so removed from war that it enables us to move forward despite our past.

With our two minutes, once-a-year day set aside to remember, maybe we are all victims of the 'not forgetting' clause. We are not forgetting because we are paying homage to those who have fallen, but are we remembering? How can we remember when most of us have not witnessed war?