It occurs to me on this Remembrance Day that in a sense we are all surrounded by former enemies. For example, I work for a German company and my manager is of Italian descent, and of course both Germany and Italy were former enemies of Canada. But not any more. The targets of race hatred and hostility decades ago have become friends and colleagues.
England and France have been enemies many times, but not any more, and as a Canadian of Anglo-Saxon descent it is utterly unremarkable these days to have Francophone friends. In fact, I am a mix of English, Scottish, Scots-Irish and Welsh and there certainly have been some historic grievances amongst those groups. If I were to keep those ancient hatreds alive, I’d need to combine self-loathing with multiple personality disorder.
In fact if I take a look at anyone around us who is not a close relative, if we go back far enough in time there was probably a time when their ancestors were the implacable enemies of my ancestors, and any thoughts of reconciliation would be considered impossible. But we are not enemies now.
So peace happens; it make take generations, but surrounded by so many former enemies it is the only conclusion I can reach. Multi-generational hatred must be tended, groomed, and passed down like a precious family heirloom. Break the chain, and the hatred can be forgotten, never to be paraded on an Antiques Road Show of hostilities.
So if we look at today’s conflicts and despair, try to inject a small note of optimism. In our daily interactions with former enemies, we’ve proved that peace between people can be the norm, millions upon millions of times every day.
Let it happen. Please.
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