Remembering...
I think I was quite naive when I was younger. I believed I was a pacifist and that a non-violent approach could resolve any situation. I was able to resolve personal situations without violence by standing my ground or through negotiation but now, with hindsight I think I have just been lucky.
I no longer see the world quite like this, my view of the world has matured a little, as I have grown up. I have met people who have been to war, have read about and seen film about war. My grandfather fought in the second world war and was part of the D-Day landings, he wouldn't have agreed the younger me, although we never talked about these things and anything he shared about the war was the light-hearted comaraderie and the scrapes he enjoyed. He lost family in the war but never spoke about them or what he had seen in the heat of battle.
The biggest revelation was when I realised that evil exists. We can't get away from that. Some people are misled, or have been nurtured to hate, but sometimes evil takes hold and no measure of talk or negotiation will stand between freedom and being oppressed.
I still strongly believe that love can win out over hate, that reaching out through prayer and reconciliation can have a powerful impact. I would sometimes argue that that many current wars could have been avoided or handled differently. But today isn't the day for those arguments.
We must give thanks for those who stood up to oppressors.
We remember those who died so that we may be free.
We pray for all who came home shattered and broken, for us.
We must remember those who perpertrated evil. So we may recognise them in the future and say no.
We must remember those who stood up to evil and said no, for us.
We pray for the families who lost loved ones before they should have gone.
Ultimately, however much violence and war must be avoided at all costs, we have to accept that they may be the only, last option.
We remember today, and on Sunday, those who made the ultimate sacrifice. In the hope that one day, war and conflict will be no more, thanks to them.
I no longer see the world quite like this, my view of the world has matured a little, as I have grown up. I have met people who have been to war, have read about and seen film about war. My grandfather fought in the second world war and was part of the D-Day landings, he wouldn't have agreed the younger me, although we never talked about these things and anything he shared about the war was the light-hearted comaraderie and the scrapes he enjoyed. He lost family in the war but never spoke about them or what he had seen in the heat of battle.
The biggest revelation was when I realised that evil exists. We can't get away from that. Some people are misled, or have been nurtured to hate, but sometimes evil takes hold and no measure of talk or negotiation will stand between freedom and being oppressed.
I still strongly believe that love can win out over hate, that reaching out through prayer and reconciliation can have a powerful impact. I would sometimes argue that that many current wars could have been avoided or handled differently. But today isn't the day for those arguments.
We must give thanks for those who stood up to oppressors.
We remember those who died so that we may be free.
We pray for all who came home shattered and broken, for us.
We must remember those who perpertrated evil. So we may recognise them in the future and say no.
We must remember those who stood up to evil and said no, for us.
We pray for the families who lost loved ones before they should have gone.
Ultimately, however much violence and war must be avoided at all costs, we have to accept that they may be the only, last option.
We remember today, and on Sunday, those who made the ultimate sacrifice. In the hope that one day, war and conflict will be no more, thanks to them.
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