Remembering

What is the purpose of memory? Clearly on an evolutionary or selfpreservation basis our memories remind us what food to eat, they help us avoid the things that would like to eat us and aid us to form social connections that help ensure others see us as helpful associates rather than another protein source.

But what about memory in a generational context? Does my memory really aid and inform the next generation? This, of course, is the conceit of history—that we learn and adapt as a species based upon the lessons learned by our ancestors. But is this really what happens? Do we really learn from our fathers? And if so, how does this handeddown memory shape our lives and our view of the world? Right and wrong? Good and bad? Progress or mayhem?

Ralph Margetson got me thinking about these questions this week. I was speaking to him about news the designation ‘Royal’ was being restored to Canada’s Navy and Air Force. The term Canadian Army, too, is being restored from the comically officious “Land Force Command.”

On a personal level he is pleased to see the service branches of the military return to the names used when he served with the 3rd Medium Royal Canadian Artillery during World War II. Beyond himself and other aging veterans, however, he is hard pressed to see the purpose of it all. Modern society, in his view, is no longer capable of grasping in a consequential way what it means to be at war. He is not, however, longing for a repeat of past horrors to adequately inform the current generation.

Our modern expressions of remembrance and grasp of historical significance ring a bit thin to him. He would be the last person on earth to diminish the contribution and sacrifice Canadians are making in Afghanistan—he knows their anguish too well. But he doubts many of us remember that 7,400 Canadians fought in the Boer War in South Africa between 1899 and 1902. Two hundred and forty-four never came home.

A single battle at the River Somme during World War I claimed more than a million lives— 24,029 of them Canadian boys: the population of Prince Edward County lost in a single battle. What meaning do these events have in our lives today? What should they have?

Ralph worries that our focus on today’s issues and our current predicament blots out the significance we need to take from the barbarity evident in our history.

Ralph, through his letters and conversations, seeks to inspire us to elevate remembrance beyond a single day of reflection to become a way of looking at the world and our place in it. He seeks, I think, to inspire us to understand our world through our memories and history—that only through a fuller understanding of our past and our capacity for pain and cruelty—can we truly understand the richness and joy that these few decades of life offer.

Oddly enough Ralph’s words helped me find context this week around the untimely passing of Jack Layton. Many others better qualified and informed will document Layton’s considerable achievements much more thoroughly than I and assess the legacy he leaves with all Canadians.

For me Jack Layton was someone who inspired hope. In a sea of earnestness, ambition, calculation and arrogance—Jack was an island of optimism and inspiration. It is, I think, the thing that Canadians responded to in May—elevating his party to become the official opposition for the first time in history.

With his passing the light of hope will fade. But perhaps not for long. Jack Layton inspired many Canadians to see their country and their lives in a hopeful and positive way. Others will pick up his torch.

This is when our memories serve us best.

rick@wellingtontimes.ca