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A Time to Remember and Appreciate the Sacrifice

“In Flanders Fields the poppies blow, between the crosses row on row.”

For many high-school students, these words elicit the flow of nostalgic elementary school memories, bright red poppies and assemblies that enabled classroom escape. But these warm ceremonies and traditions came from a place of adversity – they came from the struggles and triumphs of passionate soldiers who fought for the freedom we enjoy today.

On the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month of this millennium’s eleventh year, Canadians across the nation will fall silent in memory of the many men and women who sacrificed their lives for peace. The democracy we are privileged to experience today could not exist without them.

For students who have only ever lived in Canada, democracy is often taken for granted. When relatively equal opportunity is all you know, it is difficult to imagine its absence. However, for many people across the globe, peace and equality are mere dreams of a life which have yet to breathe. We are fortunate to be living the dream.

On this special day of remembrance, let us vow to appreciate this egalitarian nation in which we reside. Let us be grateful for the people who provided us with a chance. Lest we forget.