The Great Remembrance Day Debate

Today is 11/11/11 best known as Remembrance Day, a day to remember, mourn and give our silent thanks for those brave Canadians who fought for our freedom.

But the day has been over run with debate, should remembrance day be a civic holiday. I have heard debate after debate, but personally I believe Canadians should be at work.

I believe Matt Gurney a writer for the National Post sums it up well:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/guerson/5166856948/"For all Canadians who enjoy the freedoms and safety secured for us by the sacrifice of over 100,000 lives and the suffering of millions more who served and lived, Remembrance Day is a rare opportunity for a united, collective thank you. At most work places and in all schools, at 11 a.m., work pauses and people can reflect. It provides an opportunity for organized displays, the reading of poems, the recounting of veterans’ tales of courage and pain, and most importantly, the solemn education of the youngest Canadians in the facts of war and how much our prosperous and free society has truly cost. For one day a year, for only a few minutes at a time, we take the steps needed to ensure that for at least one more year, the sacrifices made on our behalf will not be forgotten.
Making Nov. 11 a day off would not only make it harder for Canadians to share this time of contemplation and sobriety, but would also fundamentally change the meaning of the day. Even the best-intentioned Canadian, one fully mindful and respectful of the costs of war, would soon have to fight the urge to look forward to Remembrance Day. A day off with the kids, a chance to sleep in or take the dog for a long walk, are things rightly relished, and it would be wrong to deliberately associate Nov. 11 with relaxation and pleasure."

Read more: http://fullcomment.nationalpost.com/2010/11/11/matt-gurney-remembrance-day-the-wrong-time-for-a-holiday/#ixzz150ISgoyX

Wear your poppy proudly, and when you see a war veteran make sure to tell them how much you appreciate all they have done for us.