Memorial Day

Yesterday was observed all over USA as Memorial Day - a day set aside to honor and pay homage to soldiers who died fighting wars for their country.

In previous years, the only reason this day was significant for me used to be that this was the first Holiday and possibly a long weekend in close to five months since the start of the year, and that for most recreational places, this day marked the opening for summer season. This year would have been no different but for a dame who goes by the first name of Barbara.

While looking for a book in our local library, I came across a copy of The Guns of August written by Barbara W. Tuchman. An absorbing and detailed account of the events leading up to the start of the First World War and the first month of it. As I read that book, I became painfully aware of two facts - one that my knowledge of European History is, to put it mildly, only minimal; and two that how a small spark can quickly escalate into a conflagration of full scale war.

One can argue about the pros and cons of going to war or blame one belligerent or another, but the saddest, most poignant fact of any war remains that young soldiers die. In the World wars - they died by the millions - wiping out a significant chunk of an entire generation. Many of them may not have really understood the reasons they were firing or being fired upon - yet were duty-bound to lay down their lives when commanded to do so.

Young people, usually being the most curious and open-minded, many of the combatants would likely have socialized with or even formed friendships with their counterparts from the enemy side, had it been an exchange student program or a tourist visit, instead of a campaign of war.

Reading the account of the battles and the high casualties of that war and subsequent ones, one cannot fail to recognize the lethal potential of human ingenuity and innovation - when applied to destruction. But even more lethal is the ego and political ambition of a few people - whose decisions and actions affects vast swathes of population - thereby changing the course of world history.

This memorial Day, I offer my personal salute to every soldier of any nationality, who made the supreme sacrifice fighting honorably in a war.

I hope that at some point in the unfolding history of humanity, we find a way to settle differences without wars. Actually this may be a near impossible wish, given the way nation states have formed and with the multitude of ways people find to include some and exclude others from their world view.

So, while we are wishing the impossible, let us try a grander vision -
We hope that someday humankind as a whole is composed of truly independently thinking, responsible individuals who do not need the crutches of assumed identities and who can look beyond the histories of collectives past to a future where there is only one group encompassing all living beings.