Lest we forget

In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago
We 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 throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders Fields.

- John McCrae

Tomorrow, Remembrance Day, we honor all the Canadian soldiers who have ever died to preserve our freedom, our prosperity, and our lives.

War is not ideal. Peace, on the other hand, is. Sometimes, you need to fight a war to gain peace. And that's why I am not a pacifist. War is tragic and devastating - but sometimes war is necessary. For freedom, prosperity, and life. To want peace is not to lie down and let the world trample on you, because that way you're avoiding conflict. To want peace is to be willing to fight for it, because there are people who want to take it away.

Tomorrow, say a prayer of thanks for the men and women who died to make our country what it is today - free - and for the men and women who are even now fighting to give that same freedom to others.

I will be.