OldTanker said:
I would suggest that in the minds of many Canadians it already does, so why resist?
I have to disagree.
In the minds of many Canadians, writing "C U @ bar" is considered a sentence. Should we resist? Well, it does convey the purpose of passing a message, so what's the problem. But then you get a memo from a subordinate, usually time-sensitive with an expectation that it will be forwarded quickly, that looks like it was written by a chimpanzee, because we've accepted the lowest-common denominator.
Can we not maintain
one day without losing focus and dumbing it down for the masses? Particularly
this day, because once you shrug and say "OK, it's not to remember sacrifices in war, but to commemorate anyone who's worn a uniform," it quickly becomes politicized (as we've seen with the white poppy crowd), or its value diminished (in previous years, I've seen reference to including fallen emergency services' personnel).
If "the masses" misunderstand the meaning of Remembrance Day, then perhaps an education push is needed -- yes, even if that hurts the feelings of some kid from Newfoundland posting on a military-themed website. I'm
sure he'll remember the meaning of 11 November from this day forward.
Having lost several friends on military operations, Remembrance Day has become more personal to me over the past few years than it used to be. Maybe I just "get it" now. And while I certainly have no anger issues
when a friend of several years thanked me for my service the other day, I just wanted to yell at her, "IT'S NOT ABOUT US!!!" It was that irritating.
So no, I don't think we should dumb it down to patting ourselves on the back for wearing or having worn a uniform. It's not about us.