Why and how should we remember?
Anna Webster considers the nature of rememberance
In 2008, I took part in the Imperial War Museum’s visit ‘Away to Remember’ and was in Belgium on the ninetieth anniversary of the Armistice. In 2009 I was invited to the memorial service in Westminster Abbey to mark the passing of the last of the generation who fought in 1914 to 1918. During my time at the Mount, I have had plenty of opportunities to reflect upon the importance of remembrance. It is sometimes said that we never learn from our past, and that almost begs the question: ‘why bother to try?’ This I do not accept. It is true that we don’t always learn from mistakes in the past, but if we don’t try, we also resign ourselves to not having the chance to make different choices and to change things for the future.
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