As the clock strikes eleven o’clock on the eleventh day of the eleventh month the country will stand and mark it’s respect for those who have forfeited their tomorrows for ours. It’s not a lot to ask. Two minutes out of a year to show appreciation for an act of self sacrifice that ensures that those that don’t appreciate the sacrifice have the right to protest at the gesture.
I am a “What if…?” kind of person. And this is a date I often think about the consequences of those brave men and women not putting the future of our country ahead of their own interests. Would we al be goose-stepping and speaking German. I’m sure we wouldn’t. But would I be writing this piece? Or if I was would it be in a seedy back room with the lights off and an army of dixie keepers? Or maybe all the furtive, underground uprising may have already taken place as it has in theformer soviet states, and we would be gradually coming to terms with new found freedoms that we are unsure what to do with.
Would I be able to cross over a road and buy a pint of milk for my Frosties in the morning? Would I be able to travel freely to countries far and wide or even to the other end of my own country? Would my children be waking up and getting ready for a day in school where they learn how to think for themselves?
I for one am honoured that my forefathers believed enough in me and my generation that they were willing to die for it. That is why at 11.00 on 11th November my silence will speak volumes.
http://www.britishlegion.org.uk/support-us/poppy-single
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