It is Time to Remember...and Respect our Soldiers

So right off the bat I'll put a caveat on this blog post.  It's not what I've traditionally focused on related to leadership.  Rather, based on events of the past week and my own personal feelings on the matter, I felt compelled to write on the subject of Remembrance Day and how we respect - or don't respect - our veterans and armed forces.

This past week Saskatchewan-born entrepreneur Brett Wilson called on businesses to hold off putting up Christmas decorations until after Remembrance Day.  In doing so he said that early Christmas displays and sales showed a lack of respect for veterans.  Later in the week, as he responded to some of the "controversy" generated by his comments, he further suggested that his primary intent was to raise the level of discussion on Remembrance Day and how we recognize and respect our veterans and armed forces.  And there was heated debated generated without a doubt.  If you need any evidence of that they just check out the back and forth on his official twitter account @WBrettWilson. 

I first became aware of Mr. Wilson's perspective and the heat subsequently generated through my early morning drive as I listened to one of my favorite radio stations.  And quite frankly I was dismayed by the level of discourse on this subject.  One of the radio personalities was solidly behind a perspective that putting up Christmas decorations - at home or at a place of business - was in no way disrespectful of veterans or currently serving members.  In fact he - perversely in my view - suggested that by putting up Christmas decorations that he was paying the highest tribute to those who had or were prepared to make the ultimate sacrifice for our country and the values it stood for.  My take on his comments were that by putting up Christmas decorations prior to November 11th and shopping on that day that people were being supremely patriotic by enjoying the freedoms bought for us by the sacrifice of others.

Perhaps most shocking was the reference made to the murder of Corporal Nathan Cirillo.  My beloved radio personality suggested that the events of October 22nd actually provided Canada with an early Remembrance Day.

I wish I could say that the rationalization ended there.  Unfortunately not.  During the course of my drive in to work a spouse of currently serving member of our Canadian armed forces called in to express her dismay at how ignored and forgotten she and her family felt during Remembrance Day.  While she might have been worried about a spouse or friends deployed overseas, others in her community were busily putting up Christmas trees or enjoying a day off of work to shop or enjoy other recreational opportunities.  The response from our local radio personality?  Well her husband made a choice to join the armed forces.  Why should his choice impact our enjoyment or commitment to Christmas?  From his standpoint, putting up Christmas decorations at his home, or a business putting up Christmas decorations before November 11th, had nothing to do with respect or disrespect for our armed forces.

I can't disagree more and unlike Brett Wilson, I believe that we should do more than just raise the level of discussion on this matter.  It's not that I'm a grinch or anti-Christmas.  On the contrary, I have a local reputation for being the 2nd coming of Griswald and if you need a guidepost for driving in Edmonton just look for the glow coming off the multitude of lights on my house.  Ditto for going over the top at Halloween.  But my Halloween lights and decorations come off immediately after the big candy fix and my Christmas lights don't go up nor get lighted until the weekend after Remembrance Day.  I do not see that as any grave sacrifice on my part - even if it might mean putting up lights and decorations in colder or snowier weather.  It's a small sacrifice to make on my part and is a small demonstration of respect - FOR ONE DAY - of the sacrifice made on my behalf by others.

And lets be honest about Christmas as well.  For most of us, Christmas has lost much of its spiritual significance.  The reaction that I have seen from retailers is either that they need the extra time to get their retail displays in order to start taking full advantage of a prime sales window for them or they simply can't afford the loss of a single day of sales if we were to declare November 11th a statutory holiday.  Even that wouldn't even necessarily mean no shopping hours.  While I appreciate that the Christmas season makes or breaks many a retailer's profits for the year, if one day makes that much of a difference I suggest you are not going to make it in the long haul regardless.

Maybe there are some of you who are anti-military on principle.  I can accept that.  However, most of us would also realize that the vast majority of our military personnel don't themselves make the decisions to deploy to Iraq or Afghanistan on military missions, nor do they deploy to places like Cyprus and Rwanda on peacekeeping missions out of their direct choice.  They go where and when we tell them leaving behind family and friends at the risk of life and limb.  And let's remember Mr. Radio Personality it is your taxes and your elected officials that have both created this opportunity for a military career and that ultimately then directs these people into harm's way.

And it's not like this choice is loaded with perks like great housing, great pay, or great opportunities after the end of their military careers.  As a country we have decided, through our elected leaders, to maintain a military force that allows us to participate in world affairs to the best of our abilities, in support of like-minded allies, and to uphold a set of values as a country that we say we hold dear.  I can't accept that whether you are pro- or anti-military that you would not find some place in your life to recognize the efforts and sacrifices of our fellow citizens on missions WE have sent them to complete.

So Mr. Radio Personality I certainly can't control whether you put up Christmas decorations in your house the day after Halloween.  I can't control whether your business decides its time to put up a Christmas tree in your lobby.  I can't control whether our local retailers decide its in their best business interests to get that head start on their profit margin by getting all decked out in holly.  Nor can I control whether buyers and sellers decide to do business on November 11th.  At least not yet.

I can, however, express my dismay at all of those choices as I do believe it displays a fundamental lack of respect for our armed forces - both living and dead.  In the end, it is more about all of us being entirely self-centred and selfish and materialistic.

This year, like every year, I'm waiting until the weekend after November 11th to put up my Christmas decorations.  This year, like every year I'm wearing a poppy on my jacket.  This year, like every year I'm going to do what I can to reflect on the efforts exerted on my behalf by our armed forces.  It's certainly the very least I can do.  Christmas can wait one more day.  And I can give one day to remember.
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Greg Hadubiak, MHSA, FACHE, CEC, PCC
TEC Canada Chair/Executive Coach/Senior Consultant
hadubiak@wmc.ca

Helping leaders realize their strengths and enabling organizations to achieve their potential through the application of my leadership experience and coaching skills. I act as a point of leverage for my clients. I AM their Force Multiplier.