War is Not A Dress Rehearsal: It's Here. It's Real. It's Now.

War is Not A Dress Rehearsal

Make no mistake, war takes our young and doesn't return them. The ones that do come back often grow old remembering every detail of a conflict they never asked for.

Today, the war, the conflicts, the victims of terrorism play out on social media and are broadcasted live on YouTube. News media tell the stories again and again while experts debate and predict the outcome, while the youth of today and everyone else alive faces an uncertain future.

Canadians are no longer simply peace keepers to the world. We must play our role, if asked to, in the pursuit of a new world order. Going to war to create peace seems to be a human concept which has created catastrophic losses. I think today that point should come across loud and clear.

World War I

The total number of military and civilian casualties in World War I was about 40 million: estimates range from around 15 to 22 million deaths and about 23 million wounded military personnel, ranking it among the deadliest conflicts in human history. The total number of deaths includes from 9 to 11 million military personnel. The civilian death toll was about 6 to 13 million. (Oh yes, and over 8 million horses perished as well.)

World War II

World War II was the deadliest military conflict in history. An estimated total of 70–85 million people perished, or about 3% of the 2.3 billion (est.) people on Earth in 1940. Deaths directly caused by the war (including military and civilian fatalities) are estimated at 50–56 million, with an additional estimated 19–28 million deaths from war-related disease and famine. Civilian deaths totaled 50–55 million. Military deaths from all causes totaled 21–25 million, including deaths in captivity of about 5 million prisoners of war

World War III (Should it be necessary)

In February, Vladimir V. Putin invaded the Ukraine. NATO allies decided to impose sanctions and provide military weaponry in an effort to prevent the triggering of World War III.

At the five-month mark, according to a new study, the Russian President Vladimir Putin’s war on Ukraine has the heavy cost of US$8.9 trillion conservatively, a loss equivalent to more than four times the entire annual income of all Canadians. The estimates include human costs of $4.7 trillion, concentrated in Ukraine, but affecting people worldwide as the impacts of the war spread.

It is thought that perhaps as many as 100,000 Ukrainians and an equal number of Russians have died since the start of the invasion.

As we recover from a global pandemic, Canadian’s have the luxury of standing back and watching the conflict unfold. We get to form opinions about the war as we weigh in on social media, drink clean water, eat an abundance of good food and order next day delivery through Amazon Prime. It’s easy to forget what day it is when we’re pretty much assured that tomorrow will, in fact, come.

Lest We forget

Today and every day let us remember not to forget.

I know for a fact that the Woodfield family (from Waterloo Region) will lay down a wreath in memory of family member Braun Woodfield who died from a roadside bomb in the Afghanistan War. Braun … is still gone. They will never forget where and how, he died for his country...in someone else’s country. Never and forever … will they see him again. It’s a stunningly hard sentence for any family to be handed.

Rest in Peace, Braun!

Lest We Forget