Editor:
On Remembrance Day we remember those who have sacrificed their lives for our freedoms. Some were in their teens, most in their 20s., They died at war in their prime of life. I cannot imagine the pain and suffering they went through as day after day they faced the enemy, the elements and the very threat of injury and death.
We honour them and are thankful for their sacrifice as we go to the annual gathering at the cenotaph to offer our respects. I am proud to be a Canadian where we still enjoy many of the freedoms defended at such a great cost to human life. We observe the Canadian flag at half-mast as we collectively express our sorrow and grief in honour of our fallen ones.
As I think of this, I think of others who have died. The most innocent ones, our future generations of soldiers, teachers, doctors, inventors, citizens who have not been given the chance to see the light of day, one taken every five minutes; one hundred thousand every year, silently taken, almost without anyone noticing. Life cut short in the womb, the place that is to be the safest, has become the most dangerous. Few stand up to defend them, not even in our highest places of government. I am ashamed. Can this really be happening in our great country of Canada? The freedoms our young soldiers so vigorously defended in the past no longer extend to our most vulnerable ones, how can this be? We can call it reproductive health, pro-choice, women’s rights, sexual freedom or whatever, but it still remains one of the greatest tragedies of our modern day. It is nothing short of a genocide, a modern day holocaust that we will pay for dearly should we not sincerely face the truth, change our ways and look to our Maker for forgiveness.
As I observe the flag, I think that it should be at half-mast on a perpetual basis in remembrance of the already four million innocent ones that have already died at the altar of sexual convenience and those who continue, every few minutes, to have their lives snuffed out before they leave their mother’s womb. I do not have the power to singlehandedly stop this genocide or even to lower the flag on the Peace tower to half-mast in honour and sorrow for these little ones, but I do have the power to have my flag on my property at perpetual half-mast until we as a nation wake up and come to the defense of these preborn human beings. On a daily basis my flag at half-mast reminds me to pray for, speak for and defend these defenceless fallen ones.
God help us! Lord Jesus forgive us! Open our eyes and show us the hope that we have in you when we face the truth of our sinful ways and seek your forgiveness, mercy and grace.
Ken Penner,
Telkwa BC