"Don't thank me"

Today is Remembrance Day, November the 11th.  If you are like me, you will undoubtedly spend some time thinking about death, war, and the millions of young men whose lives have been snuffed out by armed conflicts in the 20th Century.

Many will say "Thank a soldier, they're the reason that you have the freedom you enjoy today!" or "Let's remember those who died for your freedom."  and maybe put a picture of a poppy as their Facebook profile picture.  I have no doubt that these people are sincere, and truly grateful for their lives, just as I am grateful to live in the relative peace that I enjoy now.

Many years ago, I once wore a military uniform.  For 8 years, I was part of Canada's Reserve Forces, although I worked full time for a few years.  I frequently had people approach me and tell me that they "appreciate what I do", and I wanted to say,
"Don't thank me, I haven't done anything!"
Just because I wore a multicolored uniform with badges and a hat does not make me a hero.  No man becomes a hero because of his job.  Do you want to know what my role in the military was?  I filled out paperwork, and sat in front of a computer all day.  It was boring, and I realized early that I'm not fit for a desk job.

On the other hand, my grandfather Manny volunteered with the Royal Canadian Air Force in the 40's, becoming part of an air crew.  His aircraft would have been responsible for flying across the English channel, and finding military targets to destroy.  Many of these would have been in occupied France, and many more would have been in Germany.  Ultimately, the efforts of many millions were successful, and the Nazi regime was destroyed, although Manny was eventually shot down and captured before the final end.

World War 1 and 2 ended with 100+ million people dead, and many millions more wounded and homeless.  The monetary cost of war was astronomical, and there isn't a government still around that isn't STILL paying the debt that was incurred.  In the US, the government used the war efforts to enact an Income Tax, expand the use of paper money, and force millions of young men to join the military, and ultimately die in muddy and frozen trenches.  These are not good things, this is not what "freedom" looks like.  Yet, we call these the "good wars", and talk about how "we would be speaking German now" if not for these horrible, costly wars.

World War 1 started with a very small land dispute, and turned into a raging world conflict, and World War 2 was prompted when a failed painter took advantage of a demoralized German population to seize power and enact his twisted vision of a perfect world.  Many don't realize that Germany had been economically crushed by the Versailles Treaty, and had been paying millions of dollars in gold to France, allegedly to "repay" the damage caused by WW1.  The German population was starving, and their money was worthless.  They wanted a solution, and Hitler provided it.

Of course, once the war had begun, it needed to be stopped.  Terrible things were done by both the Allies, and the Nazis.  Entire cities filled with innocent people were killed by bombing, including two Japanese cities where 250,000 civilians were murdered by atomic weapons, when Japan was already on the brink of surrender.  We found out later that the Americans simply wanted to see what the bombs would do to a city...and today, there are enough nukes around to destroy all life on earth 10 times over.

Was this good?  No.  Nothing good ever comes of war, just death and misery.  No one really wins, but you better believe that there are losers!  Nevertheless, I recognize something about those who volunteered to fight.  They really thought they were doing something good.  They wanted to help, although I suspect many of them were simply thrilled by the excitement of "War".

I'm not going to talk about the Afghanistan war, or Korea, or Vietnam, or peacekeeping missions.  I'm only going to say this.  War is hell, and those who see it will find that a piece of that hell still lives inside them.  The wars of the 20th century were fought for Europe and Asia, but everyone ultimately suffered.  We are not more free because of war, we are simply alive, and grateful to be so.

To those who died, I will say, "I'm sorry you are dead".  To those who lived, I will say, "I am glad you survived".  We will never know what the world might have been without war, but I know this; we will soon forget about the horror, the death, disease and misery, and the world will eventually be at war again.  We should avoid this at all costs, but we won't.  I just hope that my children, and yours don't become victims like so many have before us.  If you remember anything, remember that!