Friday, November 11, 2016

Does the Average Canadian Care About Remembrance?

While on my way to work here in Toronto this morning I could not help but notice that poppies were almost nowhere to be seen. I saw one fellow subway train traveller sporting the powerfully symbolic artificial flower.

Zilch.

Many years ago I watched a documentary on the World Wars where at the film's conclusion historian Dr Noble Frankland spoke of his concern that future generations could lose any understanding or appreciation of the selfless sacrifices in those devastating conflicts.

The number of people wearing poppies is not necessarily the indicator of how much of this understanding and appreciation there is out there, but to me it certainly is the domestic canary.


2 comments:

Adele Menegon said...

I'm surprised about the few poppies in evidence in Toronto. Here in Hamilton almost everyone I saw was wearing one and we are very proud of our Lancaster bomber which did a fly over at 11 am on the 11th.It gives me goose bumps every time I see it.Even at work people were asked to maintain the required minutes of silence.I know the schools do a special Remembrance Day ceremony so I think the memory of sacrifice is being kept alive.

Simon St. Laurent said...

Thanks for the notes!