A Day for Remembrances

Today, November 11th, is Remembrance Day here in Canada and other Commonwealth countries.  It is a day originally set aside to commemorate the end of World War 1, but has been continually expanded to commemorate all those citizens of Commonwealth countries that have taken part in any war or peace keeping action up to the current day.  It is a time when we think about what our freedom has cost in terms of life and personal sacrifice, and to reflect on what needs to be done to ensure everyone experiences freedom.

I guess that brings up the question of what freedom really is, and whether we are right to impose our ideas of freedom on other people.  So many things in this world are subjective: religion, freedom, love.  What shouldn’t be subjective is human rights.  And that is what we need to fight for: the preservation of human rights, both here and abroad.

I am deeply grateful for the sacrifice Canadian men and women are making overseas, just as I am so incredibly grateful for all the sacrifices made in the past.  And while I will do my best to make sure that Baby Man understands these sacrifices too, I hope that he will never be called upon to do so himself.  May he and all his children grow up in a peaceful world.

Image Source: http://flickr.com/photos/34427466731@N01/1402612 Used under the Creative Commons Attribution ShareAlike 2.0 license.