REMEMBRANCE Day is as much about our future as about our past. This is an idea we must make sure our children understand.
The minute of silence we observe today is aimed not only at paying respect to those who have laid down their lives in combat, but also at reinforcing what it means to go to war.
For those of us who have lived our lives in peace on home soil - thanks in large part to the sacrifices made by those we remember today - the terribleness of what they endured for our sake is hard to fathom. In war, Canada's service people have faced indescribable hardship; they have performed their duty under direct threat to life and limb; and many have suffered terrible losses as a consequence. The Nov. 11 ceremony is intended to remind us of this.
But as the survivors of the great wars of the past century dwindle, and as, increasingly, Canada's conflicts are fought by the brave few in far-removed places, we run the risk of losing sight of this reality.
Without the connection provided by our veterans, war for the upcoming generation risks becoming an abstract concept, an adventure, a video game. Those who don't understand armed conflict may enter into it before all other options are exhausted and without fully comprehending what they are doing. We have to strive to ensure this doesn't happen.
Our armed forces fight not only for freedom but for peace. It is a precious thing that for their sake, and for ours, we must preserve.
