A serious moment

“Okay, folksies, let’s quiet down. This is serious,” Mr. Faraday used to say to us in school. And so let’s get serious for moment: this 11th of November is a day to note. Even though many Americans think of this as just a day off from school or a great day for sales at the department store, it marks a serious occasion: the end of the War to End All Wars, World War I. In Anglo-American culture, it becomes a day to honour the veterans who fell in that and other wars and who continue to serve us. Even when a war or ‘military action’ is unpopular, it is important to remember this history. It is also moving, as would be attested to by pretty much everyone who has seen the Remembrance Day ceremonies and their poppy theme. In Canada, a nation that suffered grievously disproportional losses in that 1914-1918 slaughter, the national airline has stood up and gone out of its way to remember, and we note their efforts here.