Remembrance Day in the UK

At 11:00 0n the 11th day of the 11th month - an announcement at the Shopping Mall. An observance. Two minutes of silence. All across the UK, everyone stood still for two minutes to remember those who died in past conflicts. Some bowed their heads, perhaps they knew someone. A few, but not many, kept walking. Maybe apathy, perhaps open defiance. All-in-all, a rather touching moment for me, of course.

Every country has its remembrance days, but for some it perhaps means a bit more. The UK was involved from the beginning of WWI and WWII, in the midst of the European struggles of the times. The older generation experienced first hand the bombings and the shame of losing the initial battles. The U.S. was a late comer to both, at least in the European theater. We Americans honor our war dead on November 11. But we were not invaded. Hawaii was a territory, not a state. Yes, the attack was brutal, but occupation by the Japanese was never really a threat. To be invaded and occupied brings the horrors to a new level. Ask the Poles, the Chechs, and especially the Russians.

Is there more to come or are we ever going to end this slaughter of young men in the defense of our ideologies or bringing down despot leaders? Since WWII, we don't have wars anymore. At least we don't call them that. Korea, Viet Nam, the Balkans, Iraq, Afghanistan. All police actions. War was never formally declared. But soldiers and civilians died nonetheless. And we amass more arms so that some day we have the potential to destroy our entire planet.

As I observed the faces on this day, I had to ask myself - from the perspective of these people, is the glass half-full or half-empty? Not only from a war perspective, but about the quality of life in general. The British as a rule are rather conservative people, and, as a rule, not particularly out-going. Eye contact is rather rare. A few hearty welcomes when one starts a conversation, but in general quite a closed approach to strangers. I must say I'm rather reserved myself, but I do notice less outwardness from the British than from the Americans. Can one then jump to the generalization that these folks may think of the glass as half-empty? Here's what I think:

UK: Half-empty
US: Half-full
Russia: Half-empty
Germany: ??
Greece: Half-empty
Latin countries: Don't think about such things
Africa: Too busy surviving to think about it.
China: Must be half-full, but for how long?
Canada: Half-full (had to get another country on that side of the debate)

Thats my thought for the day.