While conflict continues throughout the world, we have been fortunate enough to have avoided full scale global war like those of the First and Second World Wars.
Though Canadians have been involved in the fight against terrorism in both Afghanistan and now to a certain extent in Iraq and Syria, very few Canadians understand what it is to have their freedom threatened.
In that same vein, only a handful of Canadians understand what it is to be involved in armed conflict.
With the First World War 100 years behind us and only a few veterans of the Second World War still living, it can be difficult for younger generations to understand the meaning behind Remembrance Day.
None have had to live through true wartime. Few have a grandparent or great grandparent to have shared the horrors they lived through both at the end of a weapon or at home holding the pieces together.
Those fading and lost memories are why Remembrance Day is still such an important day not only here in Canada but also in other countries where it is observed.
Nearly 100 million people died during both our past world wars. That loss of life is so high to be incomprehensible to most people. During the wars however, it meant few families did not endure the suffering of losing a loved one – often more than one.
Those sacrifices ensured decades of peace for many of us and the fact the memories are faded and the threat of global war is a distant memory. We should be grateful to the many people who died to give use the luxury of forgetting the horrors they lived through.
While the pain of those wars might have faded, Remembrance Day ensures the sacrifices will never be forgotten. It also serves as a reminder that we are fortunate to live in Canada.
Other nations have not been as fortunate and continue to struggle with armed conflict. More than 500,000 people have been killed in the Syrian civil war since 2011, for example. Tens of thousands have been killed in both Afghanistan and Iraq as part of terrorism-related conflicts between radical Islamic groups such as ISIS and Al-Qaeda. Each of those conflicts has also driven tens of thousands from their homes.
Every November 11 we must all take the opportunity to give thanks to those who died so we might know peace. We must also remember why we must do all we can to protect not only our country but our world for another global war.
