How does a Mennonite celebrate Remembrance day? When a large part of your religion is based on pacifism and conscientious objection what does it mean to honour the people who fought valiantly for their country to protect their friends and loved ones?
Within the Mennonite community we often wear “To Remember is to Work for Peace” buttons instead of poppies. To symbolize that to remember is to go beyond wearing a flower on your lapel and remembering parents and grandparents who fought in the wars. But to work every day for peace all over the world so NO ONE has to suffer the way our parents and grandparents did. To work just as diligently and valiantly in peace and human rights than we have in war in the last century.
And how are we working for peace when the United States spent $87 billion dollars on the War on Terrorism and is asking Congress for more? How can we hypocritically remember the people who gave so much of themselves when the wars just get bigger and more people are dying? Not ‘lest we forget’ because most people have forgotten, everyday we forget as we say or do something hurtful to our neighbor or the person halfway around the world by supporting unjust wars. I have a hard time this remembrance day trying to justify the sins of this world to the memory of the people we’ve lost.
May we remember not just today but every day that peace is a fragile and beautiful thing to be nurtured by everyone every day.