Remembering; the new generation

Daniel Nugent-Bowman

nuge0020@algonquincollege.com

With the Canadian military death toll nearing the 100 mark in Afghanistan, Remembrance Day represents a silver lining in an otherwise shady cloud.

That shady cloud is the entire situation in Afghanistan and its divide among the court of public opinion. Some people support the position to send troops and some oppose it. Each side has its debatable views and with the end of the conflict supposedly in sight in three years, the clouds are as gloomy as ever.

Whatever side of the fence one falls on, however, there should be no doubt as to where everyone should stand on the most important issue – with the troops themselves. These are the men and women who are half a world away and risking their lives daily. While conditions are unquestionably much more accommodating for the troops in Afghanistan than they were for soldiers in First World War trenches, they remain in danger every day.

In seems today that the general public has forgotten that. With the First World War the “War To End All Wars” and its successor glamorized in Hollywood blockbusters, it would appear that any other bloody confrontation pales in comparison. Afghanistan may not win the battle in terms of popularity, yet it shouldn’t lose the war as to the importance of the troops’ lives.

While granting that this Remembrance Day will mark the 90th anniversary of the end of the Great War, and with many veterans from both wars nearly gone, the meaning of Remembrance Day is beginning to alter in the context of today’s society. 

The waters of the Afghanistan mission may be murky at best, but our soldiers’ place in society should be crystal clear. There is no sense arguing either for or against troops being in Afghanistan – what’s done is done.

Those who died for a cause they believed in must be remembered just as fondly as those before them. What Afghanistan has done is make the word “remembrance” relevant to today’s generation.