[politics] Remembrance

Poppy Day (2 minutes silence) ...In Flanders fields The poppies grow Between the crosses Row on row That mark out place We are the dead... -- Siouxsie & The Banshees, 'Join Hands'

Drawing upon the poem "In Flanders Fields" that was inspired by the horrors of the Second Battle of Ypres (horrors that included the first use of poison gas), Siouxsie's discordant version carries with it the anger, chaos, and disruption of war. The poppies that blossomed amid the carnage and shell-churned soil of Ypres are the inspiration of our Memorial Day poppies today. Regardless of our feelings about our current wars, we owe a moment of silence for the fallen, past, present, future. And while this upcoming day is a remembrance of the sacrifices of American soldiers, let us not forget the greater costs of all wars. We have at this hour lost over 1,656 soldiers to this abomination; let us not also forget that the death toll among Iraqis is orders of magnitude greater.

While I hold no hope that this will occur in my (or my child's) lifetime, may there be no more wars. May there be no more blood needlessly shed for untruths large and small.