Remembering the Armistice

Today is Veterans Day, which once upon a time was known as Armistice Day. Veterans Day is a jumbled tribute to soldiers in general, of any war at any time. Armistice Day was more specifically a commemoration of the end of World War I, which claimed the lives of about 20 million people to violence and many million more to a global influenza pandemic. As bad as things are and have been in Iraq and Afghanistan, or even in Vietnam 40 years ago, it is difficult to imagine the scope of the horror of the War to End All Wars.

These days Veterans Day is observed more by politicians than by anyone else, who like to make a show of laying wreaths and displaying their patriotism. And a show is all it really is, as these same politicians provide no real, substantive support to the veterans they purport to admire.

In days of yore however, Armistice Day was something focused: a time for everyone to reflect on war's horrors and ponder what they might do to help prevent such massive catastrophes in the future. Back then, before the rise of the Third Reich, people really believed that such atrocities could never happen again. They couldn't imagine humanity surviving another conflict of that intensity and magnitude. They didn't want to. The shock of the enormity of the suffering and violence of that time altered humanity's perception of the world.

People in other countries still observe Armistice Day, and take its lessons seriously. In America, we changed the name, perhaps because perceiving war as a tragedy rather than a business opportunity would be a conflict of interest for the military-industrial complex, or perhaps because we are well-programmed to ignore suffering. With a simple name change, sadness becomes pride.