The “eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month” was set aside to commemorate the end of hostilities on the western front of the “war to end all wars.” As we now find ourselves in the midst of “perpetual war” let us take a moment to remember all those who have lost their lives fighting to end war and bring about a world that we can be proud to pass on to our children, not only the ones in uniform but also the war resisters, the ones who fought for human rights, for dignity, for better working conditions, to end racism and oppression, to stop ecological degradation, to defend their lands, to end slavery, to stop rape and torture, the ones who fought for food, healthcare, housing and education for all, all the ones who stood up for what they believed and made the ultimate sacrifice so that everyone may be free.
Let us also remember the ones who survived the battlefields but couldn’t survive the world and could find no other way to end the perpetual war in their heads and hearts but by their own hands. Let us remember the ones in prisons, in mental institutions, in drug rehab centers, under bridges, on street corners, in shelters and soup lines.
And after we take a moment of silence to remember our fallen veterans, comrades and friends let us truly honor them by vowing, again, to not be silent in the face of oppression, by picking up their torch and continuing their fight for a world where everyone is free.
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