Remembrance Day

‘War is a crime against humanity. I renounce war, and am therefore
determined not to support any kind of war. I am also determined to
work for the removal of all causes of war.’
- Peace Pledge Union pledge

The chain reaction of evil--wars producing more wars -- must be broken, or we shall be plunged into the dark abyss of annihilation.
- Martin Luther King, Jr.

I hope....that mankind will at length, as they call themselves responsible creatures, have the reason and sense enough to settle their differences without cutting throats...
- Benjamin Franklin

Violence can only be concealed by a lie, and the lie can only be maintained by violence.
- Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn

War is fear cloaked in courage.
- General William Westmoreland

In times of universal deceit, telling the truth will be a revolutionary act.
- George Orwell

As long as war is regarded as wicked, it will always have its fascination. When it is looked upon as vulgar, it will cease to be popular.
- Oscar Wilde

True power is when we have every justification to kill, and don't.
- Oscar Schindler

Those who do not understand what it truly means to be against war too often accuse those of us who are as not caring about the men and women who have died, and continue to do so daily, on the fields of battle. What they fail to realize is that it is precisely because we do care that we feel the need to speak out and to stand side by side with those who fight, are wounded and die such horrible deaths in wars that are too often manufactured in the name of profiteering and power. And it is for those reasons that we also support conscientious objectors and never think them to be cowards or unpatriotic.

Remembrance Day is set aside to honour veterans and those still serving and I believe the best way I can do that is to not only wish for peace but to work for it.

Do not stand at my grave and weep;
I am not there. I do not sleep.
I am a thousand winds that blow.
I am the diamond glints on snow.
I am sunlight on ripened grain.
I am the gentle autumn rain.
When you awaken in the morning's hush
I am the swift uplifting rush
Of quiet birds in circled flight.
I am the soft stars that shine at night.
Do not stand at my grave and cry;
I am not there. I did not die.

- Mary Elizabeth Frye

Red poppy photo: Clifford Skarstedt, the Canadian Press