Just two years ago, 30% of Democrats believed that children should be taken away from unvaccinated parents.
Nearly 50% of Democrats believed that the unvaccinated should be sent to camps.
These are not tolerant, kind people.
This is what a totalitarian ideology looks like.
Doesn't it just.
Cheers,
LSP
In the States we honor veterans on November 11 but in Commonwealth countries people mark the date as Remembrance Day, looking back to the terrible slaughter of World War I, which ended with the "passing of the eleventh hour on the eleventh day of the eleventh month." In respect of this, churches keep the following Sunday as Remembrance Sunday and St. John the Evangelist, Calgary, was no exception.
Except perhaps it was, with a full Requiem High Mass, complete with Catafalque, Absolution at the Bier, two minutes silence, both Canadian and English national anthems and a heartfelt homily by Fr. B. I was moved and so was my youngest son. The liturgy began with an Act of Remembrance:
They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old:Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.At the going down of the sun and in the morningWe shall remember them.
In Flanders fields the poppies blowBetween the crosses, row on row,That mark our place; and in the skyThe larks, still bravely singing, flyScarce heard amid the guns below.We are the Dead. Short days agoWe lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,Loved and were loved, and now we lie,In Flanders fields.Take up our quarrel with the foe:To you from failing hands we throwThe torch; be yours to hold it high.If ye break faith with us who dieWe shall not sleep, though poppies growIn Flanders fields.
The flags are out in force in this small country town as people get ready to have fun with family and friends around the grill. Quite right too, and I'll be firing up the Compound's Weber in short order, but as we behold delicious burgers, toothsome brisket and juicy steaks (what, you can afford that?!? Ed.) remember those who gave and give their lives for our freedom and country.
But today is Memorial Day, 2022, when we mourn the fallen of the United States Armed Forces who died for our liberty.
And because it is Memorial Day, not burger and beer day, not sports day, not play video games day, not chips and dip day, there is one tradition I hope we try our best to keep.
It involves us taking time out to think hard and long about a soldier’s poem and the poppies, row on row.
“In Flanders Fields” is that soldier’s poem, written in World War I by Col. John McCrae, a man who’d seen the devastation of war, and hopelessness. Yet with clear eyes and a clean heart he wrote of poppy blossoms as rebirth of hope, those bright orange/red papery thin blossoms, as delicate as dreams, waving in the breeze over the freshly dug graves of the dead.
Lest we forget,
LSP
I think this is excellent. Via Borepatch:
The citizens of the United States have a different relationship with the Military than many countries do. The Military is seen as being part of the citizenry (and actually vice versa, as a reading of the Second Amendment will show). In many countries the military is seen as separate and distinct from the populace.
This isn't unique - the same dynamic has long been in play certainly in the Anglosphere, and other nations as well (c.f. Switzerland). This has resulted in the Military being seen as high status, and commanding broad respect through society.
It's the soldier, not the reporter who has given us
Freedom of the Press.
It's the soldier, not the poet, who has given us
Freedom of Speech.
It's the soldier, not the campus organizer, who has given us the
Freedom to Demonstrate.
It's the soldier, not the lawyer, who has given us the
Right to a Fair Trial.
It's the soldier who salutes the flag, serves under the flag and
whose coffin is draped by the flag,
Who gives the protestor the right to burn the flag.
- Father Dennis O'Brien, USMCAnd so in the United States, today is the celebration of Veteran's Day. The rest of the Anglosphere (and other places) hold today as Remembrance Day or Armistice Day, recalling the Millions slaughtered in the Great War which ended 95 years ago today. America does not need a Remembrance Day, as we have our own Memorial Day holiday (an outgrowth of the American War of Southern Independence a half century earlier than the War To End All Wars).
As a result, there's less sadness here. On these shores, today is a day for the living, not for the dead. We see signs at small restaurants saying "Veterans Eat Free", which would be difficult for those asleep in Flanders' Fields.
But even here it's worth a moment's reflection on the War where Europe committed suicide, when a whole generation was butchered and damned. And how they nearly took us with her, then and 20 years later. It's rarely the politicians who caused the problem who bleed.
Thanks to all who served, including Grandpa, Dad, Uncle Dick, nephew Daniel, The Queen Of The World's son, our Son-In-Law (currently deployed), and last but by no means least our very own ASM826. The citizens - of whom you were once part and to which you returned - are grateful indeed that this nation does not fear its own Armed Forces.
Grateful. Yes indeed,
LSP
