It’s a weekday morning. It’s early. I’m on my way to work. The radio is on and I hear this from the talk radio host: “Should kids be allowed to forgo Remembrance Day celebrations at school if they don’t want to be a part of the ceremony?” Instantly, without a second thought, I shout “NO!” at the radio host – as if he could hear me. That question upset me and that’s the kind of reaction it deserved. The conversation was a result of a news story in the Toronto Sun the day prior. I think this is ludicrous. What possible reason could you have that would make it even a little bit OK to forgo honouring our veterans? I can’t even comprehend an argument to support that. [caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="150"] (Image credit: Getty Images via @daylife)[/caption] Once I arrived at work, I quickly turned to our Facebook friends for their reactions. I’d like to share a few of their responses with you here…

“No, it’s part of the history of our country.” – Ann Sangster “Absolutely not! Remembrance Day is History, Dignity, Respect and Honour. All things sadly lacking in our society and something we need more of from our young people.” – Debbie Ormston-Maguire “No… learning about and appreciating what has happened in the past is essential in making sure history is not repeated, and [we should] appreciate the sacrifices made by so many which enable us to have the freedoms we do today.” – Joanne Wiggins “No… all students should attend. It is part of our history, it’s our way to say thank you for those that fought for our country and helped other countries thru their wars. It is a payment of respect for the fallen soldiers. It is a tradition that should never, ever be skipped, forgotten or ignored by anyone!” –Victoria Ellen Mari Johnson “No, don’t even want to think about this one, it’s a no-brainer!” – Lynn Himmelman “What part of Remembrance Day would they not ‘believe’ in? This is not an issue of religious freedom; this is a matter of respect for those who fought for our freedom.” – Rachel MacLeod “I am sitting here TRYING to fathom WHY ANYONE would want to ‘forgo’ Remembrance Day…” – Deenen Murphy-Cook “In my opinion, Remembrance Day is not only about honouring the veterans of WWI and WWII. It’s also about honouring our existing troops, wherever they may be. Thus, regardless of your place of origin, you live in Canada now, there most certainly is a connection.” – Noel Silva-Terkovics “Did the men and women who fought for this country have that option? NO. As a vet myself, I say keep the kids in school and have that whole week of classes be about what they fought and still fight for! Freedom isn’t free!”– Josh Sykes-Huebschwerlen

I, for one, am proud to be Canadian. I am proud of our Canadian veterans. And I am so very honoured to wear a poppy and to stop absolutely everything for a few minutes on November 11 to pay tribute to the men and women who fought for me to be able to speak freely here today. Do you think kids should be allowed to forgo Remembrance Day celebrations at school?