On Remembrance Day, recognize veterans’ sacrifices

As another Remembrance Day approaches, it seems especially pertinent to keep in mind that there will not be many more years where those who experienced the First and Second World Wars will be present at these ceremonies and be able to give faces to the tales of wars that move further into the past with each year. Consider that nearly every student at this university is old enough to have been conscripted or go to war out of a sense of national obligation were the circumstances to strike.

Consider how differently things may have turned out that would deprive us from all we hold dear today were it not for these individuals’ sacrifices. All the trivial things we fixate on regularly absolutely pale in comparison to what our counterparts in generations past have experienced. We are given the privilege of having such stable lives with little in the way of major concerns because of their actions — but we can’t let that turn to complacency.

So pay attention to the ceremonies this week. Talk to those who were there and think about Canadians’ sacrifices long before you were born and up to today. Throughout the year, every time you pass a legion hall or a war memorial, bring to mind that same gratitude. We’re too fortunate to have these heroes permeate our nation’s history to just revisit their contributions for a few days each year.