November makes me sad.
It reminds me of loss.
The trees lose their colour.
We lose light.
We have lost loved ones.
Today I feel as though we have lost our way.
On this day of Remembrance we honour those who gave the ultimate sacrifice.
I think of men- some of them barely men- leaving families behind. I think of women who watched them leave, or followed along. They left hopes and plans only to die on foreign soil. But they did so to fight for a cause and to keep us free.
Free from tyranny, fascism, discrimination, hate. They fought for loved ones and strangers. They battled for the oppressed and the marginalized, the victims and voiceless.
But today, I feel as though the events of the recent world dishonour them.
Just this week the United States elected a man whose campaign was run on fear and hate. It was fuelled by discrimination and disregard. The ugliness of humanity rose up and now thinks that it has a place.
What men and women fought against in other countries is seeping through the soil, staining the home land.
Race wars are the new order. Those are harder to fight than an unseen enemy. And harder to accept.
Even in my own beloved country that ignorant monster has smelled the blood spilled by bigotry. A conservative MP has called for screening immigrants for "Canadian Values". That statement turns me cold and my coldness turns to anger.
I am angry at the arrogance for this woman to assume that she speaks for the majority of Canadians.
I'm happy to say she does not, but sad to say she speaks for some.
To me, Canadian values are tolerance and acceptance. And caring for each other. Those are the qualities for which we are known. I am proud of our diversity, of our many different cultures. Wherever I travel in the world, this is the badge I wear, the flag I wave.
Today I am angry. Brought to frustrated tears angry. I see the smug hatred faces of bigots in the US gleefully causing harm to others, because they feel that this President Elect gives them the right to take away the liberty of others born in different skin, brought up with different beliefs, loving in different ways. They think that putting the Clown Prince on the throne justifies their hateful words and actions. They are too consumed with hate to realize they have gone from Super Power to Super Joke.
I am sickened by those in my own country who wear a poppy, and cry "Lest We Forget" while thinking that only those who are born here matter. Or rather, those with white skin who are born here. Those are the ones who dishonour our fallen on this day and every day. The men and women who went to war to bring peace may not rest easy. Those who gave their very lives so that ours could be lived in freedom are dishonoured with every racial slur, every misogynistic and homophobic action. Every Mosque vandalized, refusal of refuges, religious intolerance or violence towards others, spits on their sacrifice.
I don't want to be angry. I don't want to feel discouraged. Or frustrated.
I keep telling myself that the only way to combat this hatred is through love. More than ever I smile at people hoping it will carry through to the next person they see. I try to make my energy positive when everything around me is losing colour. It's not easy. It's not easy to beat back the darkness but I try. Not just today, but every day. It's just a small thing and it seems almost child-like to say it, but I hope it will make a difference.
I think of the words from "In Flanders Fields" - the words of the dead, blowing arounds me as if they move the poppies and the flags
Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
Let's take the torch.
Let's continue the fight.
Let's fight hatred whenever we can.
Lest We Forget
