Sadness for our veterans
Dear Editor: I always feel a little sad on Remembrance Day, but this year I felt downright despondent.
I felt despondent because I have known many veterans over the years, and each and every one of them, without fail, are filled with compassion, grace, and humility, yet we seem to be creating a society that has none of these values and betrays not only the veterans who survived but breaks our bond with those who made the ultimate sacrifice.
We have created a world where we defend a person’s right to own weapons routinely used to murder people yet we ignore a person’s right to food and shelter. We have created a world where angry words shouted on social media in the guise of free speech receive billions of views and meaningless “likes” yet calm, rational discourse is relegated to books gathering dust in libraries, and where truth is view as impermanent. We have created a world where greed and power are rewarded with more money and power, yet kindness and charity are considered weak and ineffective. And we have created a world where ego and self-praise are the order of the day despite the real dangers represented when egos clash.
As I read about armed men murdering church-goers and concert attendees; as I read about hundreds of sexual assaults committed by people in power where witnesses ignored or blamed the victims suddenly coming to light; as I read about world leaders engaged in infantile shouting matches and bullying their constituents; as I read about leaders who write rules designed to make everyone but themselves pay for the excesses of their government; as I read about more and more people expressing hatred to others based on their colour of their skin, their beliefs, or the person they love, I begin to believe Lt.-Col. John McCrae’s words have lost their meaning.
We have broken faith with those who died. We have not only failed to catch and hold high the torch the fallen have thrown to us, we have done our best to snuff it out.
The dead in Flanders fields can no longer sleep.
And that makes me very, very sad. Paul Varga Penticton