Remembrance Day 2012
Got up early as is my habit to watch the ceremonies from Ottawa. I'm always glad for the veterans and the crowd when the weather is reasonably cooperative; today in Ottawa was cloudy and looked cold, but no wind or rain or snow as has happened in previous years.
We have no WWI veterans remaining; the last one died a few years ago. The ranks of the veterans from WWII and Korea are thinning. That there are fewer veterans now from Afghanistan speaks more to the dreadful efficiencies of modern warfare rather than to the idea that we are becoming more civilized.
And yet, in spite of what our hyperconnectivity might seem to tell us, we are living in history's least violent age. It is far from perfect, as anyone with eyes to see or ears to hear can tell for themselves, but I live in hope that we progress, though our incremental improvement be ever so painfully slow.
Just this moment I heard the sounds of a bugle playing the Last Post from Battalion Park across the hill.
Lest we forget.
This entry was originally posted at http://magista.dreamwidth.org/188640.html. Comment wherever you please.
We have no WWI veterans remaining; the last one died a few years ago. The ranks of the veterans from WWII and Korea are thinning. That there are fewer veterans now from Afghanistan speaks more to the dreadful efficiencies of modern warfare rather than to the idea that we are becoming more civilized.
And yet, in spite of what our hyperconnectivity might seem to tell us, we are living in history's least violent age. It is far from perfect, as anyone with eyes to see or ears to hear can tell for themselves, but I live in hope that we progress, though our incremental improvement be ever so painfully slow.
Just this moment I heard the sounds of a bugle playing the Last Post from Battalion Park across the hill.
Lest we forget.
This entry was originally posted at http://magista.dreamwidth.org/188640.html. Comment wherever you please.