November 11th is Remembrance Day here (Veteran's Day in the US), commemorating the signing of the Armistice that ended World War I. They sell paper and plastic red poppy flowers to raise money for veterans groups. Everyone, old and young, wears one. There are special memorial programs on the radio and telly. It is as if the fighting only ended a few years ago.
I remember red poppies and Veteran's Day parades when I was a kid but nothing in a VERY long time. Just goes to show you how much more the UK and Europe was affected by the wars than we were.
In church today the brother who was speaking kept his eye on the clock. At 11am he asked the congragation to stand for two minutes of silence. Then he took a step back from the podium. For two minutes we joined every other church in the UK as they too stood in remembrance of those who gave their lives for freedom. Wouldn't it be amazing if the country founded on the ideals of freedom actually did the same thing. I was not proud to be an American today.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment