“Yet - many forgot." - Futurist Jim Carroll
Tomorrow marks Veterans Day in the US, Remembrance Day in Canada, and similar memorial days elsewhere around the world.
It's a day to pause and reflect on the memory of the sacrifice made by many in World Wars I and II in defence against tyranny, fascism, and terror. Tomorrow, I will share the story of my dad, heavily researched, with the small role he played on the battlefields of the Second World War. The phrase "Lest we forget" is used in Canada and many Commonwealth countries to mark the day; the most common phrase in the US is "Thank you for your service."
And yet, with the continued rise of the alt-right, the devolution of political parties into foundations for racism, and the elevation of platforms of hate, it would seem that for many, they've either forgotten the lessons of history or choose to willfully ignore them.
The result is that in many areas of the world, history seems doomed to repeat itself.
I write this today because I was sparked to think about this when I attended a Celebration of Life for an elderly member of my ski club yesterday. It was a glorious service, with her family and a few friends telling her remarkable story, sharing memories, and offering up life lessons from "Dorothy."
And yet, as a Japanese-Canadian and a child in the early 1940s, she was, like others from her ethnic background, sent to an internment camp during the war. The fact is, Canada forcibly removed about 22,000 Japanese Canadians from the British Columbia coast, confiscating their property and imprisoning them - simply because of who they were. This happened in other countries around the world at the time, and remains as one of many stains on the history of those who often try to hold themselves as better than others.
We're repeating the same mistakes today, particularly with appalling force, speed, and brutality in the US.
It would seem that lessons have not been learned, history is repeating itself, and the 'remembrance' by many tomorrow will be but a hollow, hypocritical statement by people who should know better.
Why do I write this? I don't know - perhaps as a small attempt to try to help refocus on the importance of what tomorrow actually represents, rather than being some sort of ritual day in which so many simply go through the motions.
If you are, like one of many, who will say "lest we forget" or "thank you for your service," and yet are someone who has forgotten our history, check your thinking.
Futurist Jim Carroll writes about many issues involving trends, innovation & disruption - but will occasionally wander into other topics that cross his mind.