Remembrance Day vs. Veterans Day

Today is Veterans' Day in the USA. It's Remembrance Day in the UK and other parts of the world. The date signifies the end of WWII. In the US, we are taught that November 11 is a day to remember those who have served in the military - active or reserve. In the UK, it is a day to remember. To remember the war, yes, and the military, yes, but also our grandparents, parents, children, friends, anyone who has died.

So, what is the difference? A big one.

Veterans' Day is barely marked most years, excepting by retail sales and the occasional UFW parade. When it is marked, it is marked with parades, marching, flyovers, etc. Military displays to recognize military might.  When we think of a symbol for the day, it is the flag.

When I think of Remembrance Day, the symbol I think of is the poppy. While we wave flags and bunting and the good ole Red White and Blue, the Brits wear a paper poppy. The focus is on the person, not on the country. 

The obsession with militarism in the US is one of the things that gnaws at me. I have watched youth that I have mentored race headlong into ROTC programs, eager to get their hands on a gun and some camos. We celebrate any victory with explosives and weapons. We wave a flag at any issue that comes our way.  

I'd suggest that Remembrance Day in the UK is the way it is because the war was fought over their heads. It was done on their soil. Grandparents and great-grands remember the Blitz. Even our Pearl Harbor was so distant from the continental US that we cannot fathom it. We have had attacks on US soil (I in no way want to make light of the past terrorist attacks) but the last war we had here was one we fought with each other. Maybe that makes a difference. When a nation lives with the reality of war rather than the propoganda of the war machine. It's one thing to talk to a returning soldier; It's another to have to huddle in an air raid shelter. It's one thing to keep the homefront; it's another to have the homefront become the front lines.

Whatever the reason, and this is rambling, I would rather celebrate today like this:

Than like this: 

Other people feel the same way.