I am troubled by how the memories of these soldiers are sometimes used in our current political climate, though. The ghosts of these soldiers have been conscripted into service just the like the persons they represent, I think.

Either way, I’d like to know that our sense of gratitude on Remembrance Day never completely over-rides a more worldly sense of shame. This goes beyond nations and flags. We did this to ourselves; we all lost.

We, as a nation, forced these people to fight. That’s the ultimate sacrifice, and it’s a part of the Vimy Ridge Memorial that is sometimes misinterpreted. Canada, as a nation, is represented as a mother, crying, because she lost her sons - her sons that she sent into this mess in the first place. We, as a nation, sent those people out. Some one had to do it, yes, and “we did the right thing”, but the nation still sent its citizens out to die. We should be thankful, but we should be asking for forgiveness, too.

It’s a really neat concept, though, it’s kinda cool to see the results when photos are related to a map.