Veterans Day: Honoring Veterans with the Message of Peace
For a scholar and researcher of peace, it is interesting that my birth day falls on November 11, the day we honor veterans who fought wars.
And being that my focus in research is how to create global peace, I got curious.
Veterans Day was called "Armistice Day" (a day of truce), originated on November 11, 1918, to honor the end of World War I. Achieving peace, and agreeing not to fight, and even signing a document, was the intent of this day.
In 1938, November 11 became a federal holiday that honors all veterans who fought wars for the US. I love that we take a day to honor the immense sacrifice of our veterans. Security and safety is important.
And so is peace. The shift from celebrating both the ability to arrive at a truce (peace) and honoring those who fought for their country to honoring veterans is significant. Peace was dropped out of the holiday. Yet what do our beloved veterans fight for if not peace and safely as the ultimate goal?
It is a good question, a worthy question to ask of our leaders, a question that requires a shift of consciousness - from winning through war to negotiating a good life for all the citizens of our planet. Some will call me idealist with unattainable dreams because of "human nature."
But I trust human nature, and believe in all of us as individuals living together, in different parts of the world, in different cultures, yet as a collective.
Today, on Veterans Day, I honor our veterans and I celebrate every individual - we all have a deep desire for peace interwoven into our DNA. I will focus on that today.
With love and appreciation.
Frank Buckman film will surprise you and touch you deeply. It is a short film by Imad Karam, a Palestinian producer.
Yours,
Dohrea