MiKE: Lest we forget

Lest we forget, originally uploaded by mike.tan.

Last Tuesday was Remembrance day. This year was supposed to be especially significant as it marks some anniversary of the beginning or end of some war some time ago.

Yes, I am being somewhat contrarian and disrespectful, if only because I am somewhat of a pacifist myself. I understand that the wars, and wars in general, are highly unfortunate things, representing a massive breakdown in our ability to communicate. Many unfortunate people die. It is sad, especially for the families of those who died.

But why hold elaborate memorials for the dead? And why only the dead on 'our side'? Are the enemy combatants less human? What about all the other victims of all the other wars that have been fought? Are we possibly glamourising something that is, in essence, no different from murder, vandalism, and property destruction, except in scale?

...

So, at the UofT, there is a tall clock tower, the Soldiers' Tower, which commemorates the war dead of the UofT. Annually, a ceremony will be held there. At the foot of the tower, there are a few walls, upon which the names of the fallen UofT students and alumni have been inscribed. I saw this woman look wistfully at the names on the wall, almost as if she recognised a name or two. I sincerely hope that it was my imagination. It would have been quite sorrowful for a mother to have to bury her children.