Bring Back the Poppies

In Canada and much of the rest of the Commonwealth, I'm often reminded, people wear poppies pinned to their shirts on Veterans Day (aka Remembrance Day). There's a two minute moment of silence to recognize World Wars I and II, and everybody reads the poem "In Flanders Fields" by John McCrae.

In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly,
Scarce heard amid the guns below.
We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved, and were loved, and now we lie,
In Flanders fields.
Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.

Isn't that classy? In the US Veteran's Day is more like Columbus Day, a day when federal employees don't work but everybody else does, basically a footnote on the calendar. I propose we start wearing poppies and reading poetry on 11-11-11 too, and give meaning to this oft-overlooked day.

Once a year, an intelligent and meaningful recognition of the courageous people who saved the world from tyranny a couple of times doesn't seem like too much to ask, does it? And we won't hear any complaints from flower sellers either, I suspect.