On the eleventh day, eleventh hour, eleventh month, World War I was over. For most of the people alive today that was an ancient event, before memory. World War I is like that for me. One of my grandfather's was drafted and served at the end of WWI in Kentucky caring for service members with the Spanish flu. As far as I know, he didn't get it. WWI seems so far past.
But, my dad was a soldier who spent the WWII in Europe, most of the time in central England and then on the mop up crew in Germany after the war. He came home on the Queen Mary. When I was in Long Beach I very badly wanted to see the Queen Mary, but my companion preferred to spend time at an aquarium, so I only saw it from the outside.
People today don't seem to know much about the World Wars. They don't think such a thing could happen again. They don't see danger in unchecked power and tribalism. They don't seem to relate to things in the past. I suppose that is why history repeats itself. We never learn.
This day is not just about honoring those who served. It is about remembering and understanding the past so that we don't fall right back into the same old patterns. War is bad. It is to be avoided. But, for a just and right cause it is to be fought with valor and courage.
No comments:
Post a Comment