Veterans’ Day, November 11th,
has passed (except for the those great sales you just can’t afford to miss),
and most every year I post a blog observing the day. This year was different.
The election three days prior had a severe numbing affect, putting everything
in abeyance while I tried to sort out not only the results, but more
importantly the meaning of it to us as a nation.
Back to November 11th. Veterans’ Day was a re-naming in 1954 of Armistice Day, and its focus moved
from remembering those who had died in battle to a recognition of all military
veterans. (Memorial Day, originally a day set aside to decorate the graves of the
Union war dead, eventually extended to honor all Americans who dies while in
military service.) In Canada, and much of the British Commonwealth, Armistice
Day was renamed Remembrance Day, but still keeping the theme remembering those
who had died in battle.
Since my 15-years of military service was in Canada, my
natural bias is to observe the 11th as Remembrance Day, and so I do.
Soldiering is an honorable
profession. We considered ourselves professionals (just like teachers,
firefighters, nurses, police). We asked for no special honors or recognition,
only that we be treated with respect. If we had privilege, it is only that we
represented the Crown (Canada) or the State (USA).
And when in times of
conflict, some died, and their deaths honored by the people for their service.
Hence, Remembrance Day, for it was at the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of
the eleventh month that the fighting ended WW I, and the people paused to
remember their dead.
And the dead were honored
for why they died. Soldiers were, and probably still are, not interested in the
finer points of citizenship, or political stances and nuances. Rough, and at times
exemplifying bravado. Yet, somehow, within the heart and mind of the soldier
was the deeper notion of rightness and just cause that empowered them into
battle, and, for some, into their death.
Reflecting on the election
in light of the sacrifice of over 623,400 US troops who died during the two
world wars, Korea, Viet Nam, and Afghanistan and Iraq is sobering. Their notion
of rightness and justice simply clashes like a teutonic earthquake with the
rhetoric, and by extension the deep values expressed, of the now
president-elect.
Let me back off here for a
moment. There is no question that as a nation there has been growing a deep
frustration for a great, great many around what life and work and value was
hoped for, was what could be, but simply was not. Powers, be they elites or politicians
or “government”, were just not hearing them, just not dealing with their issues
and challenges, in effect not respecting them as members of this nation, of
their life, of their work, of their hopes and dreams. They felt
disenfranchised, ignored. Much of this alienation and separation was between
the perceived world of the rural and that of the city, but not entirely. Historians,
sociologists, and political scientists, and others will in the days and years
ahead parse why and how this great upheaval in the nation manifested itself in
the election result.
And out of this there
emerged a champion. History is complete with champions who emerge and coalesce
those who hurt economically and socially, those who see no answer until someone
comes forward with the promise of change, real and lasting change, a returning
to a time before the hurt. And listeners become followers and followers become
disciples. And so a Donald Trump emerges, making promises, tapping into the
frustrations, and naming the causes of the hurt.
Yet in this championing, the
champion brings both his own value-system as well as his own history, folding
much of these into his message of salvation. What finally emerges is a champion
who purports business acumen, whose behavior is sociopathic; who is a blatant
liar (even when truth is clearly there for the seeing); who sees women as
man-toys, objects; who bullies those who oppose him; and most glaring of all,
targets ethnic and racial minorities while at the same time condones (even
encouraging?) white supremacy, plus a strong leaning towards fascism. A dark
side of our nation is brought out of the shadows and even celebrated.
And a hungry following,
hungry for change and hope, somehow look past their champion’s character in
hopes that there will be that new world promised for them.
And those we honor on
Armistice Day, Remembrance Day, Memorial Day lie in their graves, shrouded with
their notions of rightness and justice and cause.
And the peoples march and
protest, not as election losers (and certainly not paid ‘professionals’), but
calling this nation to its better self; free of bigotry and misogyny; a nation
of many nationalities, cultures, and faiths; caring for the poor, the
vulnerable, the refugee and the homeless; a nation of justice; and decrying the
ugly violence and hate and racism, born and given breath from the champion’s
campaign that now infects, breaking the heart of this land The protest and
marches are, at their best, noble expressions of outrage.
[Also see Rod Scher’s Geekly Weekly blog, "The World Gets Smaller. And Flatter. And Angrier"]
Liel
Leibovitz, a senior writer for Tablet Magazine, reflecting on the life of his
grandfather in Nazi Germany, puts forth three ‘commandments.’ First, treat every
poisoned word as promise, taking the haters at their word, and assume the worst
is imminent. Second, treat people as adults, demanding that they understand the
consequences of their actions. And third, and the hardest to grasp: Refuse to
accept what’s going on as the new normal. Not now. Not ever. [read the full
article here]
At one time, on every
November 11th, soldiers and civilians alike wore red poppies, a reminder of those
who were killed, drawing from that immortal poem written by the Canadian
physician Lt.Col John McCrae in Ypres in 1915.
In Flanders
fields the poppies blow
Between the
crosses, row on row,
Last week also saw the death
of Canadian songwriter and poet, Leonard Cohen, who recited that stirring poem
last year in a moving tribute to McCrae.
4 comments:
Well said, as always, Mike! "Not now. Not ever." I truly hope that this does not become the new normal. I'd like to think that we're better than that.
Thanks for this timely and thoughtful contributionot Mike.
Thanks, Rod. I believe that we are better than that, at least the majority of those who voted certainly reflect that. But this majority is not politically empowered, at least at the national level. It is good reading what some states and many cities are saying to protect people, especially the immigrant and the undocumented. But I fear there is a lot to worry.
Daniel. Thanks for your comment. Always good to hear from you.
Post a Comment