Two days ago, millions, if not tens of millions of people from around the world, have come together in remembrance of their respective country's fallen soldiers in World War I, II, The Korean War, Vietnam War, and current wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
For many, in all countries playing party to a war in some point of recent history, we have not come together as enemies borne from conflicting interests materialized in a war, but as people cut from the same cloth: expressing our sorrow over our loved and admired, awed over and appreciated, lost to us in a war.
One of the greatest honors we can think to even give our own boys (and girls) is our solemn remembrance of them.
For millions of Canadians outside their ranks, we too among us have an undying patriotism and valiance about protecting our country for its own good. The motives behind each major war after World War I involving us has been slightly different, but were fought for the collective interests of the Canadian people as a final defense and attack against oppression and persecution. As the United Kingdom granted us the ability to control our own foreign affairs after World War I, we could finally have a say in what we thought about defending our country.
To budding soldiers, the cause being fought for was not Canada, but rather the British Empire. Regardless, countless soldiers replied "Ready" after being called into combat. The primary goal of war may have been of an external entity, but the ulterior motive, our boys found, is for the protection of Canada as it was itself. This patriotism - not for protecting solely the interests of the British Empire but our own home and Native land, as we have come to term it, was the fuel for countless soldiers fighting for what they believed in: a safe, healthy and united Canada.
This goal was first met and evidently materialized in the valiant Canadian defense of Vimy Ridge on that fateful April day of 1917. This event marked the first time in which all four Canadian Corps fought together as one, cohesive unit drawn from troops from all over the country. That combined with the subsequent victory over the Germans, as a result of Canadian rendered battle tactics, gave us a huge source of burgeoning Canadian pride and won international respect for defeating such a strong enemy in our own right.
Even working together with British troops on that day, the vision was clear - we did not fight for some other countries interests, but for our own. Not only was our victory viewed as chiefly a Canadian achievement, it marked a turning point in the war - a tipping within our favor - for us Canadians - both on the battlefield and abroad in our homeland, where, to any patriotic Canadian, it is not enough for them to simply believe, but to affirm, "I fight!".
That day is when we considered ourselves to be truly independent from Britain, and helped us forge our unique identity - how we distinguish ourselves amongst others who have also shared similar interests.
Was our pending Statute that followed which gave us control over foreign affairs deserved at that point? A definite yes - an affirmation of international recognition for such a valiant effort fought on purely Canadian terms - and won by Canadians.
Time and time again, when we remember our fallen soldiers that helped won - not only our own war - but our independence from Britain in foreign affairs. When we remember not only our fallen, but the veterans today embedded in our memory - admired and a source of inspiration, we are ultimately accepting and forming what our first real victory over our enemies, now our friends - that the day so preciously symbolized: a united Canada.
Indeed, we do not come together as enemies split because of territorial differences, political beliefs or views, religious beliefs and background - but as a people who find it within themselves - to be human, and at that, a Canadian too - to celebrate our first real simultaneous achievement: Canadian unity and independence met on Canadian terms.
Even if you simply appreciate our achievements in protecting the good of the Canadian people at home and abroad, you see within yourself your own identity. To any "Canadian" then who feels this undying, sprouting sense of Patriotism here before, two days ago, today and long after our veterans die - you are undoubtedly a champion among your people. For you, it is not enough to say "I believe", but "I fight!" - however way you can to preserve the Canadian identity - the legacy forged from our boys - that form the "torch passed to us" from failing hands.
It is thus appropriate to replicate the honor and patriotism our soldiers had in fighting for our own country - as they were champions among their people - by - at the very least - dedicating a poppy in remembrance - by placing it on a grave of a loved one or wearing it solemnly over your heart - to whom you had knew and loved and had lost in war - or that whom you do not know personally, but have found a new feeling of admiration for their bravery and brilliance. Because for all Canadians, regardless of age, whether you yourself, or your family or friends that have experienced or knew someone who experienced war - you are remembering not only them, but what they died for.
They do not want you to sorrow only because they have died. Regardless of what anyone says, life is short. If this offers any comfort, take solace in the fact that our men and women died not to simply be mourned, but to help forge and preserve a legacy that is today cherished and appreciated by the Canadian people, and recognized internationally as part of our own Canadian identity - freedom and independence - not for what it is, but how we - our soldiers and our faith in them - achieved it for the Canadian people.
If you too today among you feel, or have always felt, and always will feel grateful that you are free to express your thoughts, your feelings, to choose to follow a religion or not, to move without inhibition, to not be persecuted, and to live on your terms - you too are a champion among your people. You are not worse, or any better than the soldiers who fought in the war for themselves, their family, their friends and ultimately, for their country and for their neighbors - ourselves. Even if you are not a native of this country, take solace in the fact that you can find yourself to appreciate our soldiers' valiant efforts then and today because they too have and have had ancestry abroad.
Thus take solace in the fact that by appreciating and remembering their ultimate legacy today, you shall not mourn - but have pride that rises you above your people and be ready to answer to Canada's call whenever possible, anyway you can, to preserve that legacy.
Take solace in the fact that by simply remembering, you are easily as doing as much for the memory of our soldiers and the soldiers themselves, as they have done for us - in any war, any venue, and of any rank - we are all the same when it comes down to who we consider our family and what we appreciate and cherish.
Take solace that in proudly wearing that bright red poppy today, you are not only appreciating our soldiers - fallen and veteran, and currently fighting - but remembering and helping instill the values they fought for that make up who we are and what Canada is today.
We - the Canadian citizenry - are the legacy that our soldiers fought for then, now and will in the future anyway they can! Suffice it to say you will return the favor by supporting their efforts of preserving our interests and our people anyway you can! Such as the saying goes: if a person is remembered, they are never really dead.
You and I and our friends and family who appreciate what we Canadians stand for, are that legacy. We are the embodiment of the cause our soldier's fought for - freedom and unity, in coming together as one in remembering who and what we lost in all of our nation's strife and wars. We are the bearers of the torch that was passed on to us from failing hands.
And as we grow old, we will pass on that torch to our children and their friends, and on forth, they will pass it on until the old flame - our faith in our societal values - burns out. Here's to hoping that the flame shall never be extinguished, but burn brighter then ever before!
With every new Canadian welcomed into our arms feeling a new found appreciation for this country, the people within it and their identity, and the values holding it all together that make Canada what it is and who we are today, and forever into the future; the torch will inevitably change hands, but regardless, the flame continues to burn brighter with each new "Canadian" welcomed into our kind.
So today, and onwards - don't just remember our soldiers and loved ones. Never forget.
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