Thursday 11 November 2010

Remembrance day

Now is the time that we are encouraged to remember and honour those who have fought and suffered for our freedoms, or for the follies of our government. It is a valuable time for civilisation; a moment to stop and think so that we may never forget, so that we may hope to learn.

But if we only remember them now, when we are prompted to do so, then we do them a disservice. A lesson given, heard or recited once a year is a lesson not taken to heart.

Since time immemorial people have fought for us, for others, for their kin and most of all for their comrades. The fallen, the injured and the survivors are held up as heroes and so they are, for their will to sacrifice their all for the good of others.

Those left behind to tend the hearths of the nation, to keep society warm, we also must so herald. In the darkness left by the absence of their loved ones, countless millions have fought the odds to ensure that their heroes had a home to which they might return.

Those who refused to fight, out of a sense of honour or respect for life, or for any reason philosophical, often also have performed acts heroic. To stand against the pressure of those who would call them cowards, and the many who served to save and comfort those who fought, they too are heroes.

All of these men and women, their mothers, fathers, sons and daughters, each and every person who has ever had to face any of the multitude of war's horrors, should be remembered and honoured not only now, but at all times. We must never forget their service, their sacrifice or their suffering.

Whenever we goad to conflict, small a great, when anyone shows intolerance for the philosophies and rights of others, it is a slap in the face of someone who has faced horror with honour. When the leaders of nations allow their squabbles to escalate unchecked, they dishonour those who have suffered at the call of those who went before.

Remember the dead and remember the living, but most of all remember the lesson. The world has called enough heroes.

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