Respect.

It’s a small word meaning

“esteem for or a sense of the worth or excellence of a person, a personal quality or ability.“

That definition perfectly describes why we ought to set down our own petty lives for an hour a year and honour the brave men and women who came before us and lay down their lives to protect our precious Rights and Freedoms.

Respect.

We ought to esteem the worth, the excellence even, of those brave heroes who made a conscious choice to put themselves in harm’s way on our behalf.

We really ought to esteem those fallen men and women.  They were better than we are.  They thought of others before themselves.  They believed in a better world than what they had then and there, and were willing to do whatever it took to ensure their children and grandchildren would have a better world, than they did.

Those who wear uniforms at today’s Remembrance Day ceremonies, no matter their age, rank or branch of service, are selfless to a degree most don’t fathom and cannot comprehend.

After you attend the Remembrance Day ceremony in your city or town try on a little of that braveness, that selflessness and do one simple thing.

Walk up to one of those brave veterans and simply say,

“Thank you for your service.”

You will be astonished by their response, that I guarantee.

And you will be a better person for the experience.  I guarantee that too.