Like many other countries around the world, Malta yesterday marked Remembrance Sunday, to mark those heroes who have fallen in war.
It is one of those few occasions that binds people, making them forget about petty squabbles and differences. It is a show of emotion which commemorates those who gave up their lives to defend the ideals of a free, democratic world.
One wonders what those lads would think if they were to tread the earth today. Our guess is that they would wonder why they paid the ultimate sacrifice to see the detritus that now clutters mankind.
They would probably take a look at today’s materialistic culture and wonder what on earth ever happened to the ideals with which they were brought up, and with which many of them died, just a few weeks or months after they joined up to fight the enemy.
They would probably look around at the state of the world and wonder what happened to the real meaning of democracy, where people voted for representatives to lead nations in a transparent and decent manner and the general public in turn did their bit.
They would probably look around and see people, their same age, abusing drugs, committing petty crime, assaulting people and wasting their opportunities to study in colleges or universities. In a way, it is good that they cannot. Much of what happens in our daily lives and the way we live them is an insult to their memory.
Look where our greed has got us – a deepening hole that we have created through our materialism and consumerism, while people starve on other continents. Look where our wars to end all wars got us – conflicts still rage around the world.
Humanity has not yet learned the horrors of war and the sad and utterly pointless anguish which it brings. A few months ago, a 100+ year-old veteran was attacked on the streets in the UK. He fought back, but was still humiliated by a street gang. Protesters in the UK have taken out their anger against the government there by holding violent protests at war memorials. Indeed, we truly insult the memories of men, women and children who died in past conflicts.
Yet, we still bicker. At the time, the fallen thought that they were trying to save the world. Yet, we continue to kill it. Remember the fallen. But more importantly, we should remember why they gave up their lives; and that was for us to enjoy better lives than they did.