“People sleep peaceably in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf,” -George Orwell.
Canada would not be the country it is today, if not for the volunteers who have gone to war, taking the fight to an enemy that would gladly have brought it home to us. Canada is a vast, diverse country, a country that brings people of many nations, and beliefs, together.
Young men and women volunteered to go to Europe and fight during both the World Wars. Canadians were again in harms way during Korea, and Vietnam. Canada has maintained a contingent in Cyprus for decades. Most recently, our combat arms have fought in Afghanistan, fighting terror on it’s home turf.
Because we have had these warriors standing ready, Canada has become one of the safest and best countries in the world in which to live.
November 11th, Remembrance Day, is a day to honour those who have sacrificed themselves allowing us to have the freedoms we do. Remembrance Day isn’t about glorifying war, it is about never forgetting the horrors that have happened in the past so we might not have have to face them again as a society. After all, how do we know where we are going if we don’t know where we have been?
Despite the politics going on in our country today, I am proud of my country. I am proud of our place in history, and my Canada encompasses all of Canada, from coast, to coast, to coast, and everything in between.
People have a right to their opinions, and beliefs, and the soldiers we remember on Remembrance Day gave their lives for that right. That is something we must never forget.
I am proud to be helping out with my town’s Remembrance Day service. I am proud to take a moment of silence at 11 a.m, to remember when the guns fell silent at the end of “the war to end all wars.” If only that were true.
I stand behind our country’s warriors, the rough men and women who stand ready to take the fight to evil anywhere. I sleep soundly at night, knowing that Canada’s warriors stand on guard for me, and everyone. Lest we forget…
Kevin
