I have a deeply ambivalent attitude to Remembrance Day. While I appreciate and honour the bravery and sacrifice of individual soldiers, I decry violence and war. All too often occasions like these are used to encourage jingoistic patriotism, unbridled support for our foreign policies and to foster a belief that our wars are always just. I also remember the civilian victims of war. I weep for those who have been raped and tortured, kidnapped, killed and forcibly removed from their homes. I weep for the victims of economic war, as deadly for many as the more recognized conflicts. I weep for those ghosts who haunt my sleep, victims of genocide on Turtle Island. I weep for the young men and women who sign up to fight for their country with good intentions, only to be brutalized and made cynical by the reality of armed conflict. I weep for those suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, exacerbated by inadequate support programs provided by a parsimonious government more intent on cutting costs than living up to their stated commitment to help veterans. https://youtube/watch?v=01-2pNCZiNk https://youtube/watch?v=cwZ9QAosNTk https://youtube/watch?v=RdARD9Qi8w0
Posted on: Tue, 11 Nov 2014 18:07:39 +0000