11-11-11

It's Rememberance Day. Or at least it is in Canada and the UK. I kinda forgot cuz they don't celebrate it here.

My friend Matt from back home suggested that I write something about it, so here it is. 'This Bud's for you.'


The point of Rememberance Day is to honour the veterans of wars. This is typically displayed by wearing a red poppy. The problem is, I don't believe in violence. I never asked anyone to harm another human being on my behalf, so for this reason I don't show visible support for such actions.

I recognize that this is a rather controversial view and as such, when discussing it in real life, I tend not to be as blunt as I was above. Nevertheless, people go on about how brave their relatives were and how if it weren't for them we'd all be speaking German right now. And maybe that's the case. For the record, my own grandfather served in World War II and had a shell land right beside him which damaged his hearing for the rest of his life. He died almost 10 years ago now, but I have a feeling he wouldn't agree with what I'm about to say either.

The thing is, I believe that when Jesus said "Love your neighbour," and more than that, "Love your enemies," he actually MEANT it. Not in a theoretical, abstract way but in a conclusive, down to earth fashion. And if this results in your personal subjugation or even destruction, well y'know what? There's more to existence than just this life. At least, I hope to God that there is. That's the whole point of martyrdom. It's not easy, and it's certainly not desirable, but I don't understand how followers of Christ can, in good conscience, harm or kill another child of God.

Violence is the least creative solution. It takes no imagination to punch someone in the face when I'm angry, but it takes much more creativity to work through problems and come up with a way that both parties can leave a conflict with a sense of justice and dignity. Where is that sense of inventiveness? Where is our compassion for our fellow human beings? Although it does not make it any more acceptable, I can see how in days past it would be quite easy to demonize the 'Other,' and see the enemy as less than human; but in our increasingly globalized world, now more than ever it is a travesty that people from one culture would want to kill people from another and not see them as brothers and sisters. Equality. and Love. We need to believe that love conquers all evil because if we lose that then we are hopeless as the human race. If we can't come up with a better solution than killing one another off then we might as well pack it all in right now.

Now, I recognize that after these comments a lot of people will think that I'm naive and idealistic, and I'm fine with that. To further add fuel to that particular fire, consider this: war is declared by countries but made by individuals. If soldiers chose to put down their guns, if pilots refused to get into their bombers, if the guy sitting in the base 5000km away didn't push the button to launch the cruise missiles, then war would cease to exist. I believe there are better alternatives, even if that means dying in a way that our culture considers inglorious. Because ultimately we aren't judged by our society, but by the Big One Upstairs. I don't see courage in blindly following an order that is handed down to you by a commanding officer; I see courage in those who challenge the existing norms and dare to dream of a brighter future for every single human being on this planet, which we all share together.

This is why I don't wear a red poppy on Rememberance Day.