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God and the Art of Toy and Diecast Model Car Marketing
A Day of Remembrance
By Lu Su

With Veterans Day and many other countries celebrating what they call Remembrance or Armistice Day right around the corner, I thought I would hold off on intrinsic stuff and drop a few lines in honor of all who have served or now serve in our military armed forces.

I know many of my customers who have reading this now have invested a part of their life in order to serve our country. With deep appreciation and gratitude I want to express gratefulness for your sacrifice and dedication in serving our country. “Country” is probably not the best word to use here -people start thinking real estate. Allow me to rephrase the sentence. Thank you for your dedication and sacrifices that you and your family have made, so that my family could have a better life.

I think many people fail to realize that it is through a strong military, morals that are right, the rule of law, and of course someone watching our backs, that has allowed the US to flourish and prosper. When a country’s government fails its people, you can almost always attribute its failure to the lack of one or more of the above.

I can hear the wheels turning in peoples’ minds as they try to think up of some exception to my thesis. My wife and her sisters have this inside joke every time their dad uses the phrase “The wheels are a turning” in reference to thinking. When they hear that phrase they start making this low grinding noise (as if oil is desperately needed for the cogs in their minds) as their dad talks on. It’s quite comical because my father-in-law is hard of hearing and totally unaware of these grinding noises that have suddenly filled the room. Plus keeping a straight face at the dinner table while the alpha male speaks on a serious subject is quite a challenge, as you hear “Errrrrrr.wwwwwww err” in stereo.

Costa Rica does not have a military force; because of this they are able to allocate large amounts of their budget to education. And yes, Costa Rica has sometimes had hostile neighbors when some depot took control of Panama and Nicaragua; but Costa Rica’s economy has continued to flourish without arm forces. Costa Rica might not have one (military), but the US has a pretty powerful one. Because of our military force and our interest in the Panama Canal, Costa Rica has been kept safe. So what I am saying is without our veterans, our country as well as many others could not have prospered to the extent it has now.

Veterans Day is a day to honoring military personnel. Its date is set on the same day as Armistice Day or Remembrance Day in other parts of the world, falling on November 11, the anniversary of the signing of the Armistice that ended World War I. It might be interesting to note that November 11th was selected as the date because, major hostilities of World War I were formally ended at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918 with the German signing of the Armistice.

In other parts of the world Remembrance Day (Australia, Canada, United Kingdom), also known as Poppy Day (Malta and South Africa) is still called Armistice Day in some countries (i.e. France, New Zealand). They too are also commemorating the sacrifices of members of the arm forces and civilians in times of war –specifically since the First World War.
It all started with Armistice Day and then countries started renaming it to other names (i.e. Veterans Day, Remembrance Day); but how did Armistice Day morph into Poppy Day? Have you ever wonder how poppies (the flower) got associated with soldiers/veterans? It was during the Napoleonic Wars, the poppy flower drew attention as the mysterious flower that bloomed over the graves of fallen soldiers. Then in the 20th Century, the poppy again was widely noticed after soils in France and Belgium became rich in lime from rubble during the First World War. The little red flowers flourished around the graves of the war dead as they had 100 years earlier. What probably then gave the poppy flower its greatest association with soldiers was a poem written by Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae in the Belgium trenches of World War I. After witnessing the death of his friend, on May 3, 1915 McCrae wrote this poem the very next day after his friend’s death. The poem is called In Flanders Fields.

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.

The contemporary artist Sting has this related verse in his poem Children’s Crusade:

Pawns in the game are not victims of chance
Strewn on the fields of Belgium and France
Poppies for young men, death's bitter trade
All of these young lives betrayed

Unfortunately, poppies are associated with dead soldiers. The 20th century has seen so much death. So far the bloodiest century for mandkind. Why do we keep engaging in war? Fortunately for us there is some good news to come. Check out these prophetic poems of a hope to come:

Isaiah 2:4
He shall judge between the nations,
and shall decide disputes for many peoples;
and they shall beat their swords into plowshares,
and their spears into pruning hooks;
nation shall not lift up sword against nation,
neither shall they learn war anymore.

The above sounds too good to be true. Perhaps Isaiah meant just a temporary substation of hostilities? You know, like a temporary cease fire. I don’t think so. Another prophet confirms what Isaiah wrote and adds the word ‘never’. In the Bible, never means never –at least I have not come across loop holes or 3 strikes rules.

Micah 4:3
And He will judge between many peoples
And render decisions for mighty, distant nations
Then they will hammer their swords into plowshares
And their spears into pruning hooks;
Nation will not lift up sword against nation,
And never again will they train for war.