Thanks

Okay, it has been a couple of days since Remembrance Day and I feel safe writing this. Well, safe…ish.

 

My dad fought in the great war and I thank God or dumb luck that I never had to fight any kind of war. The people that went to war come back just a little bit off and I can’t blame them one bit. In fact they should be commended that they are just a little bit off. Some of course came back with lifelong emotional problems that I just can’t fathom. For this I thank them and remember them and pray that the kids growing up today have the same difficulty that I have understanding the horrors of war.

 

Having said that, I have to acknowledge that my formative years were spent protesting the war in Viet Nam. I was Canadian so my protests were mostly listening to protest songs and watching the youth in the US protesting on TV news. I read about the draft and the war and for the life of me I just didn’t understand why the American government sent all of those young men over there. I still don’t get it. I am sure democracy battling creeping socialism had something to do with it but at the end of the day it had far more to do with selling weapons. War is good for business!

 

The Second World War was more about battling the real enemy that wanted nothing short of world domination. The atrocities that happened during that war are well documented and they are the reasons that we should never forget and stay constantly on guard so that it can never happen again.

 

On Remembrance day all that I could think of were those that stayed behind during WWII. Unless people were different than today I can imagine that it wouldn’t be easy to be a young man that was unable to go to war. Many had physical problems that kept them from going to war and many more worked in industries needed to support the war effort. My father in law was a farmer and exempt from fighting. Thank God for those that kept everyone fed during that difficult time. I would bet there would be shaming when they went into town. Can’t blame the moms and wives that lost a son, boyfriend or husband for being a little bitter.

 

Not to mention that food and goods were rationed so that the soldiers would have enough to keep fighting. Those women that remained also had to work in factories not just to keep food on the table, but to manufacture the weapons of war. These deprivations went on for years and even after the war times were very difficult. I just can’t wrap my head around what those brave people put up with and thank God that I will never suffer through a war.

 

When I think about what that was like it makes the sacrifices I am making because of the Coronavirus19 fade into nothingness.

 

I remember how fortunate I am and that my good fortune comes at the expense of those millions of men and women who really suffered and died.

 

Thanks