11-14-2016, 12:30 PM
It has been interesting discussing with American colleauges the differences between how Remembrance Day is done here, and how Memorial Day/Veteran's Day are done down there. Since theirs is a holiday, they didn't grow up with the annual assemblies we kids did, which I think actually gave us a far greater respect than a holiday would give them. I can still recite In Flander's Fields from memory (or sing, or play Last Post and Reveille).
In America, it's seemingly more about thanking a veteran for fighting, or celebrating America's military might. I've heard it said that how Americans reacted during Vietnam, where conscripted or PTSD'd soldiers returned from horrors they wanted no part of, only to find Democrats railing against the war AND the soliders, that this helped cement Democrats as the less-patriotic party, which is terrible for the vets who returned then, and for having important conversations about the difference between someone ordering a war, someone actually fighting that war, and how everyone feels about it.
In Canada, it's always felt to me like, despite thanking my grandfather for his time in Korea, and my great grandfather for fighting at Vimy Ridge, Remembrance day is most important as a reminder that we do not want to fight unless absolutely necessary, that not having to fight, not having to talk about fighting, that is the greatest gift we can give.
In America, it's seemingly more about thanking a veteran for fighting, or celebrating America's military might. I've heard it said that how Americans reacted during Vietnam, where conscripted or PTSD'd soldiers returned from horrors they wanted no part of, only to find Democrats railing against the war AND the soliders, that this helped cement Democrats as the less-patriotic party, which is terrible for the vets who returned then, and for having important conversations about the difference between someone ordering a war, someone actually fighting that war, and how everyone feels about it.
In Canada, it's always felt to me like, despite thanking my grandfather for his time in Korea, and my great grandfather for fighting at Vimy Ridge, Remembrance day is most important as a reminder that we do not want to fight unless absolutely necessary, that not having to fight, not having to talk about fighting, that is the greatest gift we can give.