Remembrance Day 2013

During my early morning walk a few days ago I saw a poppy and pin on the walkway. I picked it up, put it together, and stuck it on the fence that straddles the walkway. When I looked at it I envisioned the shape of a cross and took a photo to try to show that image. When I processed it afterwards, some conflicting thoughts ran through my head. While I value the fact that young men were willing to risk their lives fighting on behalf of their country, I also decry the need for war. My father was a drill sergeant during WWII. When I was young he would talk about the futility of war and how horrible it was. Later in his life his attitude changed and he took some pride in having served in the army. I'm not sure why.
So what is Remembrance Day supposed to signify? Is it to honor those who risked life and limb or to keep the public conscious of war in order to have conscription available at a moment's notice? Are we remembering war as a last resort, or as a moment of pride and honor? Perhaps we risk losing potential soldiers if we don't make heroes out of those that have fought and died during the conflict. If war were to become a distant memory we may just decide not to bother if a war were to be declared. As long as war is glorified we can count on vulnerable young people to join up with relative ease.
While I can imagine times where taking up arms becomes necessary, I'd rather we spent our time and energy learning how to resolve conflict instead of learning how to kill efficiently. I don't know of any video games that teach conflict resolution but I've seen lots of examples of games using extreme violence. Once violence is commonly accepted, it becomes an easy first choice.
So, I struggle with how to approach Remembrance Day every year. The photo I'm posting hopefully will illustrate it better than my words.