Remembrance Day - Short Memories?
I just wanted to remind peole of the significance of today, remembering the fallen from the 1st World War. The last three men who took part in that conflict in Britain passed away this year.
Here is Harry Patch, our last veteran and some of his last recorded interview:
If you watch the interview, I am sure many of you will agree he was a dignified man.
There are still many heroes among us from WWII although their numbers are starting to dwindle as well.
I like the fact we hold remembrance services etc and have worn my poppy with pride the last couple of weeks. I am grateful for the sacrifice that those generations made for my generation and the many other future and present generations. We have all benefited from their sacrifice.
As a 22-year-old, I was disappointed on the morning commute today to see so few of my peers and younger generations not wearing poppies. In fact, spotting which commuters had poppies was like a game of "Where's Wally" (I appreciate some of those poppies will be hidden under coats).
The point of this post is this:
The majority of people I have seen in acts of remembrance and wearing poppies are usually middle-aged to older men. That's the braod demographic I can identify from two weeks of poppy spotting!
My worry is, after my generation, or maybe earlier than that, will remembrance be a thing of the past? Will the younger generations take for granted the sacrifices made for them? We live a very sheltered, comfortable and happy existence in comparison to the hardships of the World War times. I am grateful for it and mindful of it.
I wonder as well what those War vets think of the youth today? The youth that swaggers round like wannabe gangsters, threatenting to knife, shoot and kill people if they are looked at the wrong way. The youth that seem to think that the World owes them some kind of a living.
Not all youths are like this, but there is a huge proportion of them that do live like this, and for those in my generation and younger who are smart enough not to act like this, I still get a feeling that they don't appreciate how lucky they are, and maybe this is bourne of ignorance?
I don't know. I am rambling. I just wonder what the heroes of the World Wars would make of the way society has turned out, and I'd also love some of these kid gangsters who call themselves "solja's" to join their peers on the front line and see what a real soldier looks like. I know I feel guilty that I am not doing my bit for the country when I hear of kids my age and younger dying in Afghanisthan etc.
I am still young enough to contribute though, and hopefully one day I will find it within me to do so.
Thanks to anyone who read this far, and feel free to leave your thoughts as well.
Here is to our fallen heroes. We will never forget what you gave us (I hope).
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Patricia Brucoli
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Patricia Brucoli
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