As Yet - A Dream Unfulfilled.

Yesterday, November 11, 2013 as I sat facing the TV in my warm and dry home, I watched the Remembrance Day Ceremonies from the National War Memorial  in Ottawa. I was not moved by the somber ceremonies themselves, but by the facial expressions on the elderly veterans longingly staring into the swirling snow. I noticed that when the cannons began to fire, tiny tears trickle down their furrowed cheeks. No doubt they were remembering lost friends and the terrible violence they had endured.  The constant roar of the guns must have been a trigger igniting old memories, memories that so many of us have been spared. I was deeply moved by those sorrowful faces and felt tears forming in my own eyes as I remembered the loss of many young friends and relatives during WWII. Some of these elderly men and women have suffered, or still suffer from the haunting memories and dreams that they will carry to their  graves. Such is the lot of our many war veterans.

Of course their suffering is not new only the term PTSD (Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder) is new. In WWI it was called "shell shock" and in later years "stress reaction". For the majority of soldiers the condition gradually dissipates, but for a few, the memories will traumatize and haunt them for a lifetime. Pounding cannon fire is a sharp reminder! 

Archaeology shows that even the pre-literate societies of 5,000 years ago raided their neighbours and engaged in cruel behaviours. History shows that about 95% of societies through history have engaged in some kind of war with their neighbours.  It is said that there were 60 to 85 million deaths attributed to WWII. Albert Einstein once wrote, "I know not with what weapons WWIII will be fought, but WWIV will be fought with sticks and stones."

There are those who believe that wars, whether political, religious, nuclear, civil, chemical or guerrilla or what ever reason will always be a condition of mankind. It frightens me, when I look into the face of a young child and wonder, what will his or her world be like. Perhaps, it is the prerogative of the elderly to think the worst of the future. History is on our side. On the other hand, how fortunate we Canadians have been, for in our life time we have never experienced the destruction of our cities as have so many in different parts of the world. Why have we been spared to date?

John Diefenbaker once wrote: "I am a Canadian, free to speak without fear, free to worship in my own way, free to stand for what I think is right, free to oppose what I believe is wrong, or free to choose those who shall govern my country." And, I might add, willing to live by our Constitution and laws.

There is a large life size statue near Whitehall, London, of five soldiers standing together. The inscription on the bottom panel reads: "From mud through blood to the green fields beyond."

Will mankind continue to be warriors, or will, some day, the green fields actually become a reality?

And that's Dick's View of the World this Week