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OUR VIEW: Overlooked on B.C. day long weekend

We say: We would be wise not to take our peace for granted

In the last hours of the B.C. Day long weekend many of us missed the passing of a very important event. Some of us forgot, while others chose to ignore it.

In our attempts to hang on to that final sunny holiday afternoon, it’s almost excusable to let the centennial anniversary of the First World War go unnoticed.

But it’s not really forgivable at all. We have to remember. Of course many people did acknowledge the historic day, but it was ill-timed and didn’t receive the attention it deserved.

And while it’s so very important to simply remember, 100 years is a fitting landmark period to assess how we each feel about war today.

The war to end all wars did nothing of the sort. It started a trend: the industrialization of war.

With leaders as much as ever trading their citizens’ lives for personal gain—along with instant updates on our phones with pictures of conflicts around the world—it can be all-too persistent and overwhelming. As a result, caring about strife in far reaches of the planet might seem pointless.

How does one think about war today, in a peaceful country so far removed from conflict by geography and time?

It’s an individual pursuit with no sure answers, but one well worth exploring.

We Canadians are lucky to live in a peaceful, stable country. We should be wise not to take it for granted.

– Black Press