Chris Clegg
Next week, on Remembrance Day, many of us will attend a service to pay respects to our fallen Veterans, as well as the current military.
The services will tell us the horrors of war. The incredible waste of young men and women who died while serving, many of them in the teens.
We will hear about the atrocities on the battlefields of man fighting against man. Woman fighting against woman.
Perhaps not at a service, we will be taught about the tremendous waste of resources. What if all the money and resources spent on the military could go toward humanitarian good?
While all this is vitally important, we will also be taught one other important fact: there was a reason.
Our Veterans endured the mud and rats in the trenches, the ice-cold water in the oceans, the ear-splitting noise of bombs around them. Many returned home – if they were lucky – scarred for life.
We have all heard about stories of the special people who enlisted. Contrary to the glamourous portrayal of the German soldiers in All Quiet on the Western Front, many knew they would not return. Whether those men and women felt they were invincible is irrelevant – the fact is many did not return.
War is not glamourous.
So why go? There was a reason!
Canada is lucky to live in a democracy supported by many of the world’s greatest nations with the same beliefs and values we hold close to our hearts. The preservation of those rights and freedoms we enjoy can only be maintained by the willingness and subsequent sacrifices made by many who paid the ultimate price by going to war.
The list of corrupt regimes in history seems endless. Adolph Hitler. Idi Amin. Pol Pot. Names that chill the spine. No area of our blessed planet is exempt from potential evil. The list is endless. To prevent these people from attaining more power, they had to be stopped no matter the price. People in civilized lands understand this.
It is hard to imagine anyone supporting war because the price is so high. But some do. Today, man has created weapons to destroy the planet dozens of times over all in the hopes of terrorizing the enemy and gaining the upper advantage, or defeating them. When is enough weaponry enough?
It is hard to imagine that civilized societies create men capable of such evil. It is perhaps more astounding they create such horror and consequences that men and women are forced to go to war to fight for causes they do not believe. It is the reality of our world.
War is incredibly messy. It is a product of the faults of human nature. From the days of Zog and Zak in the cave fighting the neighbouring tribe with rocks and sticks, to today when advanced weaponry can wipe out the planet, war is a reality in our world. Thank goodness there are enough of us on this planet who have the courage to fight the faults of the evil.
There is a reason to go to war. Read about it in a history book. Better yet, listen to the few Veterans we have left. They can tell you better than we can.