Remembrance Day

I’ve woken up to a lot of activity today on my social media along the lines of ‘Lest we forget’. November 11 is Armistice Day and a time we remember those who fell in World War 1, as well as all armed conflicts in recent history. I am a fan of this, but I want to take things further than just not forgetting these sacrifices.

All war is based in conflict. Today, I’ll be talking to my students not about people who died in wars, but about how we can all, in our own little way, make less conflict in our world. The principle of letting a new friend, someone who is a little lonely, into your play group is the same concept as accepting a country or its people who need a little help. I’m in no way trivialising the nature of international diplomacy, but simply wanting to spread the message that we should all try to get along a little better in our lives, especially with those we may not see eye to eye with.

On a day we commemorate mostly young people who have been slaughtered because of disagreements, this seems not inappropriate.