I am not a veteran, but I have a lot of respect for those who have served.
When I was young, the militaristic cartoon G.I.Joe was my favourite, and as I got older, I gravitated towards military-themed books and movies.
One of my earliest movie-theatre recollections was watching The Hunt For Red October, based on the book by Tom Clancy, with my parents.
Despite the fact that a Russian main character has a solid Scottish accent –I'm sorry Sean Connery, you definitely did not pull that one off... I feel that the movie still holds up. But, I digress.
I think part of the reason for my respect for the military has to do with my love for history.
The freedoms we enjoy today stem from volunteers who put their lives on the line to stand up to evildoers throughout the world.
Sadly, war is nothing new for humanity. People have found things to fight over since the dawn of time, and as humanity has developed, so has our ability to find new and unique ways to kill each other.
Even with the de-escalation of the arms race following the Cold War, there still exists enough nuclear weapons to destroy our world hundreds of times over.
If technology ever finds its way into the wrong hands, our entire world would be at a loss. Again, I digress.
Today, there are still conflicts in the world.
There is Russia's illegal invasion of Ukraine. There is the conflict in Israel. There are other scattered skirmishes ongoing throughout Africa.
When evil rises, those on the side of good rise up to fight against it.
And that is the purpose of Remembrance Day.
On Remembrance Day, we honour the veterans who fought evil on the faraway shores.
We honour those who never made it home.
We honour those who did but didn't come home whole, mentally or physically.
On Remembrance Day we attend ceremonies honouring those who came before us, who fought for us, who allow us the life we have today.
As part of these services, we hold two minutes of silent reflection in memory of those who have come before.
Canadian singer Terry Kelly released a song in the early 2000s called A Pittance of Time, about the two minutes of silence we hold on Remembrance Day. That silence is something it seems fewer and fewer Canadians choose to honour or recognize, at least from what I have seen.
World War I saw Canadian soldiers fighting on the front line of Europe between 1914 and 1918. Canadian soldiers were again called to arms for World War II from 1939 to 1945. And since, Canadian soldiers have been in too many conflicts to count, including the War on Terror.
The least we can do is remember them. Honour them, and never let their memory fade.
Lest we forget.
-Kevin Sabo is the editor of the Stettler Independent and a journalist for Black Press Media
