Image from here, which has a interesting article about rosemary as a symbol of remembrance
It's that time of year again when poppies have made their way onto store counter tops, pinned to jackets and sweaters of the Canadian public and onto Facebook in the form of images, often with a short caption of remembrance. As I spend the Remembrance Day weekend with my military husband who has just returned from 3 weeks in the field, I wanted to share my own reasons for why I wear a poppy.
As a sometimes overly pragmatic and rational individual, I need to understand the purpose of making a silent statement through a symbol before just picking up a poppy and wearing it because that's what Canadians do around Remembrance Day. In the past few years particularly, I have asked myself why is it meaningful and valuable to wear a poppy? And now, with the introduction of the white poppy, why am I choosing to wear a red poppy? Here are my thoughts on the matter in case you're interested in hearing them:
First off, it's important for me to make it known that I support the military. I don't necessarily agree with all their decisions, procedures and certainly not how they operate on a daily basis but, big picture wise, I support what they do. I'm thankful to live in a country where military efforts are primarily focused on making the world a safer and more-just place for individuals beyond our borders. It's a far from perfect system and I recognize that not all military efforts are altruistic but the bottom line is that we have a military that aims to promote peace, not sabotage it. Through wearing a poppy I want to show that I am in favor of our military and, particularly, of the men, women and their families who give up a great deal to serve our country and our world. As a military wife, seeing someone wearing a poppy makes me thankful that they acknowledge my husband's work, the sacrifice it takes and the people who have come before him in that role.
Related to this point, it's important to me that I wear a poppy for the veterans and their surviving family members who have been directly affected by war and loss. I am thankful it's not me who gets sent overseas and I'm thankful my husband safely returned from his tour in 2011 (wow, that long ago already?). But that's not everyone's story. I want to show my support and respect the families who loss something great so that our country and our world could be a better place. WWII has been over for decades but the legacy of the veterans and the depth of loss that was experienced is still very real today. The ripple effect of lives lost and lives changed through war goes on for generations, which is why remembering veterans of WWI and WWII, as long ago as they may have been, is still relevant.
Now, when it comes to the white poppy, I can't say I'm completely against the concept like some people who have very loudly expressed their opposition. I like peace! I mean, you'd have to be crazy not to. However, the idea that peace is the absence of war and therefore the absence of militaries, is not possible in our broken world. Fact is, people make mistakes and in so long as this is true, I believe we need authority in the form of government, police and, yes, military when human error, poor judgement and selfishness compromises peace. So, while I like the idea of a white poppy and promoting the idea of peace, I don't think it can be a stand alone statement. The white poppy represents what I desire for our world, while the red poppy represents our reality and those who have sacrificed in the pursuit of peace. While both these concepts are important to me year-round, I chose to wear a red poppy during this short season as a small act of expressing its value to me, and pursue the concept of the white poppy through my actions and interactions each day.
Now that I think of it, this is related to something I posted a few years ago. You can check that out here.
-S
