When the clock strikes 11 on this warm, sunny Saturday morning in November, what thoughts will be running through your head?
Will you be making plans for a lunchtime picnic by the river with family and friends in this glorious spring sunshine; contemplating an afternoon in the garden; or perhaps planning a night out on the town with friends?
Whatever it is, be sure to pop those thoughts aside for just a minute, to imagine a world where such simple pleasures and freedoms did not exist.
Because that could very well have been our reality if not for the many members of our armed forces who sacrificed their lives in the line of duty over the years, to protect the very freedoms we so often take for granted.
No matter your feelings on war, on this day we must cast them aside to acknowledge and commemorate our past.
Through the rose-coloured lense through which we choose to view the world, war is never, ever the answer. But we know that’s a privileged position many of our ancestors were not able to take.
So in this moment – the 11th hour, on the 11th day of the 11th month – let’s remember that first modern world conflict that brought about the mobilisation of over 70 million people and left between 9 and 13 million dead.
Let’s observe the moment when hostilities ceased on the Western Front, ending the Great War (World War I) and dedicate our thoughts to those brave soldiers who died fighting to protect our precious way of life.
Lest We Forget
Lee
#spreadingthegoodstuff
