Remembrance Day

I can't believe that some people sleep in on Remembrance Day.

If you haven't already, go to a mall or a grocery store, or wherever, and find a veteran or legion member who's giving out poppies and donate some money and pick one up. Then when you're trying to decide if it would look better on your lapel or your knapsack, try thinking about the significance of that poppy and what it really means instead of dismissng it as just another accessory. And then wake your sorry ass up on Remembrance Day and get to a war memorial or another place where there's a service going on. Take part. Remember. That's what it's all about.

I'm an athiest, which for the uneducated, means I don't believe in a "god" or other supreme being as such, but the significance of Rememberance Day goes far beyond religion. In fact the people that I'm remembering while you're at home in your pansy little bed are the ones who fought for your right to practice whatever religion you do. Thousands of men and women have died preserving the freedoms that we continue to enjoy in this country and if all that's asked of us is to partake in a ceremony, and maybe get up a little earlier than usual on a holiday, then I say that's a bargain. If you have a different view, maybe you ought to think a little more about why November 11th is a holiday in the first place.

In my view, this is probably the most important holiday of all. Without the actions remembered on this day, there might not be other holidays like Yom Kippur, Kwanzaa, or even Canada Day. Maybe that view is a little extremist, but if people are willing to die for your right to do whatever it is that you do, and think what you want without persecution, the least you could do is thank them.

I know that come the morning of November 11th, I'll be at the Grand Parade in downtown Halifax, paying my respects. Perhaps, if you haven't before, or haven't in a while, you should think about it as well.

Lest we forget,
Lest we forget.

Originally posted on Thursday, 2001-11-01 at 09:48:34.