Let me start by qualifying what I'm about to say: I am not in any way opposed to the idea of Remembrance Day. In fact, I believe in the value of acknowledging our history and paying respect to the brave women and men, along with their loved ones, who lost their livelihood in past wars.
With this being said however, I am not always (and to be frank, feel no obligation to be) a fan of the presentation of Remembrance Day. While the notion of the event is noble in principle, the messages sent to people (especially the thousands of teenagers who witness these presentations on an annual basis) can be counterproductive and, as I saw just over a week ago, dangerous.
Along with the thousands of high school spectators, I saw a presentation for Remembrance Day that troubled me deeply. It was littered with inconsistency and, on the whole, espoused a rather contradictory message.
It started off with the old montage. Because of course, let's introduce an important and sensitive topic with something that vaguely resembles a cheesy movie trailer. Oh, it definitely did have a dramatic element to it (especially when coupled with the appropriate music), but it was more of the same romanticization of war and conflict that you may come across in Hollywood and war propaganda.
But that's nothing out of the ordinary. I can see the potential "rationale" behind that approach; perhaps, it's done to captivate an audience with a relatively short attention span. It could also the person in charge of the event just expressing some inherit jingoism and love for the idea of war.
So no, it wasn't the cinema-esque montage or the clips of laughing soldiers just chilling out in trenches that caught me by surprise (I mean, I've seen about 12 of these ceremonies now!)…it was really the part that came next: a reading of Dulce et Decorum Est by the poet (and WWI veteran) Wilfred Owen.
Dulce et Decorum Est is a fantastic, honest and harrowing depiction of war. As a veteran of the battle, Owen provides us with a different perspective of war - a perspective that is seldom appreciated in the media. You should definitely give the poem a read yourself, but if you're short on time, the last line is one to highlight. It reads: "The old Lie: Dulce et decorum est pro patria mori", which roughly translates to "The old Lie: It is sweet and fitting to die for one's country".
Now there's something you don't here too often in these Remembrance Day presentations, eh? I must admit, the reading of a poem of that nature - one that clearly condemns war and chastises the commonly held notions of honour, pride and nationalism. But then, just to come full circle and leave me scratching my head, a younger veteran of the conflicts in Afghanistan took the podium.
He, along with another young gentleman associated with the Canadian military delivered some stories; for the most part, it seemed like they were looking to take advantage of their time by delivering some comedic relief. When the stories came to a conclusion, the young soldier rehashed the often repeated message: we need to fight and we need to stand for our country and proud Canadians and….
And then he mentioned honour. He seemed to like it a lot. So much in fact, that he delivered quite the little speech revolving around honour that, I can imagine, likely had some young and impressionable members of the audience salivating.
On the whole, I didn't like the lasting message. The horrors and atrocities of war are not lost on me - although I can in no way speak of such a topic from experience, the consensus in the field of literature from those who have actually fought in battle and thought about it (so, not the politicians who are in the business of military orders, not combat), is overwhelmingly negative (to put it lightly). I think we should pay respect to the many soldiers who have fallen for this country and our rights.
Perhaps I'm wrong in saying this, but I'd thick that a message of pacifism would be the best way to honour these soldiers. We could use Remembrance Day to work towards ensuring that not a single other young person would ever have to die in futility. Towards ensuring that not a single other young person was enticed into battle under false pretences and promises.
Of course, different people will approach Remembrance Day in varying manners. Though it may have been littered with contradiction, I think the ceremony this year could be seen as a testament to the complexity of the issue at hand: the issue being the manner in which we think of war.
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