Armistice Day

November 11, 1918 was the end of the War to End All Wars. I remember every November 11th in grade school, we stood up at 11:11 AM along with everyone in every classroom across the country. We stood to honor not only the 9 million veterans killed in World War 1, but also to honor those before and the millions since.

My kids don't stand in their classrooms on November 11th. They have a day off and everyone goes shopping.

I might bemoan this loss of tradition, fear that when my kids are running the world, they won't remember the terrible cost of war. But then, we all stood in our classrooms and still, we forget.

We need to remember. We need to think about our soldiers and vets every day, not just on Veterans' Day and Memorial Day. Would that it had been the war that ended all wars. But it wasn't. Whether we're for the war in Iraq or against it, we need to choose carefully and wisely, with thought and deliberation. We need to be careful spending the currency of these military lives. We need to honor them.

This isn't much of a photo. In person, the crowd of flags and big sign was very touching. I think the Clifton Baptist Church has a real handle on Veterans' Day.

The sign says, "Thank you, Veterans."