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Remembrance Day and the Past
The past holds many memories for us. There are memories we never want to forget. There are memories of loved ones that died, painful memories, but we remember. Why, then, do we remember? If it is so painful to remember, why do we?
Because we can’t forget. We remember because we love them, those who willingly laid down their lives for us. They went down fighting for us. They gave us the hope we need to go on.
Eva Olsson is a survivor of the Holocaust, in World War II. Her family (except for her and her sister) were all killed there. The past holds suffering. But, “All.... these things that tie us close... to what matters most... we cannot let go.”*
I was small when my grandfather died. I remember him clearly, some memories more than others, but I don’t remember his death. He died of health problems, I found out when I was older. I think I was too young, then, to truly understand what death meant. I remember visiting his grave often.
The past, it happened in the past. We shouldn’t look in the past to be afraid of what the future might hold. Eva talked about WW 2. The wars of the past, like that one, were terrible. We get sad over them, but we must remember to hope. That is how Eva survived. Through hope.
We are the next generation, and soon it will be up to us to help create the world. We look in the past as a reminder. A reminder of what happens to those who are consumed by hatred, and what happens to the innocent when people who can put an end to injustice remain bystanders.
There is always hope. Sometimes, it is hard to find, but it is there. Look in the past. All the survivors of these wars, like Eva, and hope and faith, but most of all, they had love.
As Professor Dumbledore said, “It is important to fight, and fight again, and keep fighting, for only then can evil be kept at bay, though never quite eradicated.”
It is important to keep fighting, for if we give up, if we surrender, who wins?
What Hitler didn’t realize is that “[...] it matters not what someone is born, but what they grow up to be.”** People are not born evil. They are not born good. They grow up to be evil or good.
The past... we must learn from it, but we must not repeat its mistakes. We humans have repeated the same mistakes over and over again. But now, we must look back and learn from our mistakes. If we had done that before, billions of lives would have been saved. But that is all done, and we can’t change it. What we can do is look into the future with hearts that hold kindness, love, and most of all, hope.
Darkest nights turn into dawns... Golden lights are chords for songs of love... Something death cannot erase...***
*Song lyrics: The Bravest Man I Ever Knew, by Ministry of Magic
**Another quote by Albus Dumbledore, headmaster of Hogwarts in JK Rowling’s Harry Potter series.
***Song lyrics: A Phoenix Lament, by Ministry of Magic
Remembrance Day and the Past
The past holds many memories for us. There are memories we never want to forget. There are memories of loved ones that died, painful memories, but we remember. Why, then, do we remember? If it is so painful to remember, why do we?
Because we can’t forget. We remember because we love them, those who willingly laid down their lives for us. They went down fighting for us. They gave us the hope we need to go on.
Eva Olsson is a survivor of the Holocaust, in World War II. Her family (except for her and her sister) were all killed there. The past holds suffering. But, “All.... these things that tie us close... to what matters most... we cannot let go.”*
I was small when my grandfather died. I remember him clearly, some memories more than others, but I don’t remember his death. He died of health problems, I found out when I was older. I think I was too young, then, to truly understand what death meant. I remember visiting his grave often.
The past, it happened in the past. We shouldn’t look in the past to be afraid of what the future might hold. Eva talked about WW 2. The wars of the past, like that one, were terrible. We get sad over them, but we must remember to hope. That is how Eva survived. Through hope.
We are the next generation, and soon it will be up to us to help create the world. We look in the past as a reminder. A reminder of what happens to those who are consumed by hatred, and what happens to the innocent when people who can put an end to injustice remain bystanders.
There is always hope. Sometimes, it is hard to find, but it is there. Look in the past. All the survivors of these wars, like Eva, and hope and faith, but most of all, they had love.
As Professor Dumbledore said, “It is important to fight, and fight again, and keep fighting, for only then can evil be kept at bay, though never quite eradicated.”
It is important to keep fighting, for if we give up, if we surrender, who wins?
What Hitler didn’t realize is that “[...] it matters not what someone is born, but what they grow up to be.”** People are not born evil. They are not born good. They grow up to be evil or good.
The past... we must learn from it, but we must not repeat its mistakes. We humans have repeated the same mistakes over and over again. But now, we must look back and learn from our mistakes. If we had done that before, billions of lives would have been saved. But that is all done, and we can’t change it. What we can do is look into the future with hearts that hold kindness, love, and most of all, hope.
Darkest nights turn into dawns... Golden lights are chords for songs of love... Something death cannot erase...***
*Song lyrics: The Bravest Man I Ever Knew, by Ministry of Magic
**Another quote by Albus Dumbledore, headmaster of Hogwarts in JK Rowling’s Harry Potter series.
***Song lyrics: A Phoenix Lament, by Ministry of Magic
