So tomorrow is Remembrance Day here in Canada. At the 11th month, on the 11th day, at the 11th hour, we all pause and remember those who fought for our country and our freedom - or at least we're supposed to. For too many of us, the 11th hour will just pass us by tomorrow like it does on any workday simply because no one is going to tell us that it's time to stop and remember. This is the reason I like the way we observe our own "Remembrance Day" in Israel, which we call Yom Hazikaron - literally, the day of remembering.
When Yom Hazikaron comes around, our air raid sirens sound, prompting Israelis everywhere in the country to observe a moment of silence for our men and women in uniform, past and present. In a way, it's too bad that we don't do this in Canada, because if we did, almost everyone would feel compelled to observe that important moment of silence as they do in Israel. Now of course, I'm very happy that here in Canada, we don't need air raid sirens. But it would be nice to see everyone on the busy streets of downtown Toronto come to a complete standstill to remember Canada's soldiers. Half of the time, traffic in Toronto's downtown core doesn't move anyway, so they might as well stay still for a good reason, right?
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