Where Poppies Blow ...

This photo is public domain.

What does it mean to "break faith" with the dead?  My reasons for participating in Remembrance Day are different from those of previous generations.  While for some the poppy is a symbol of valour of those who fought and who died at war, I was taught to reflect on the tragedy of war and to take on the call not to let such things happen again.  Other slogans, such as "Lest we forget" and "Never again" try to hammer home these themes.

A famous quote from poet and philosopher George Santayana goes, "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it."  The question is, how much do we, as a society remember?  Can we agree on what caused any of our wars?  Do we take care to avoid the same steps and paths that lead us to tragedy in the past?  Saying "war is bad" isn't enough.  We need to believe in the reality of war, as if it were a part of our own memories.

A history teacher encouraged our class to, at some point in our lives, pick up a book of war poetry.  The genre is surprisingly profuse.  Perhaps in works like "In Flanders Fields", in their profound immediacy and simplicity, we will find the torch we need.  Perhaps keeping "faith" with those who took up their quarrel and died can teach us something: to live, feel dawn, see sunset glow, to love and be loved ...

Oops, I need to find the source for this picture.