Tony At 10: PASSING TIME; BLOG # 189; JUNE 26, 2015

THE MESSAGE:

As we age, so do the pages of History. Know them, remember them, feel them and be sure to pass them along. Enjoy getting older. Some never achieve it! I worked hard to get there. Thank God for health and family! Cherish and treasure the old folks; they still have much to offer.

Old age is not for the faint of heart. The term is applied to people nearing, reaching or surpassing the life expectancy of the day. These people often have limited regenerative abilities and are more susceptible to injury, disease, various syndromes, and sickness than younger adults.

The elderly also face social issues such as retirement, a sedentary lifestyle, loneliness, discrimination and stereotyping.

It is an obvious fact that as we age our past grows wider. Nobody can escape the myriad memories that are stored in the caverns of our experiences.

It is not possible, nor do we have the will power, to avoid these haunting black periods. Perhaps it is truly a sweet lemon that some may be spared this fate by dementia. The medicines in use today can ease anxieties, pain and stress but they turn us into blithering morons and are not selective in erasing the blight of past mistakes. Narcotics are always accompanied by addiction and their own set of problems .

Some of us try to understand and make vivid the present. That is not possible without understanding our past experiences. We are the sum of our lived moments. It is always worth turning backward to reflect on and accept our mistakes. History provides many valuable lessons that could benefit us in our daily lives. Ignoring the past can turn victim into oppressor and innocence into guilt. How we remember, as nations and as individuals, is critical. Not remembering, or allowing ourselves to be overwhelmed by memory; both of these outcomes surely have dangerous consequences.

SOME SHAMEFUL LESSONS OF HISTORY

These men were responsible for the suffering and death of millions of people.

ADOLF HITLER

JOSEF STALIN DICTATOR

Stalin replaced the 'new economic policy' introduced by Lenin in the early 1920s with a highly centralized 'command economy launching a period that resulted in the rapid transformation of the USSR from an agrarian society into an industrial power. However, the economic changes coincided with the imprisonment of millions of people in labour camps. The initial upheaval in agriculture disrupted food production and contributed to the catastrophic Soviet famine of 1932. Between 1934 and 1939 he organized and led a massive purge of the party, government, armed forces and intelligentsia, in which millions of so-called "enemies of the Soviet people" were imprisoned, exiled or executed. In a period that lasted from 1936 to 1939, Stalin,in order to consolidate his power, instituted a vengeful and deliberate campaign against the enemies within his regime.

Under Hitler's leadership the Nazi regime was responsible for the genocide of at least 5 million Jews and millions of other victims whom he and his followers deemed sub-human and socially undesirable. Hitler and his Nazi regime were also responsible for the killing of an estimated 19.3 million civilians and prisoners of war. In addition, 29 million soldiers and civilians died as a result of military action in the European Theatre of World War II. The number of civilians killed during the Second World War was unprecedented in the history of warfare.

AN HONOURABLE AND DISTINGUISHED LESSON FROM HISTORY. A HUGE DEBT TO PAY

CANADIANS AT JUNO BEACH JUNE 6, 1944.

The 3rd Canadian Infantry Division landed on Juno Beach and stormed ashore in the face of fierce opposition from German strongholds and mined beach obstacles. The soldiers raced across the wide-open beaches swept with machine gun fire, and stormed the German gun positions. In fierce hand-to-hand fighting, they fought their way into the towns of Bernières, Courseulles and St. Aubin and then advanced inland, securing a critical bridgehead for the allied invasion. The victory was a turning point in World War II and led to the liberation of Europe and the defeat of Nazi Germany.

Fourteen thousand young Canadians stormed Juno Beach on D-Day. Their courage, determination and self-sacrifice were the immediate reasons for the success in those critical hours. The fighting they endured was fierce and frightening. The price they paid was high - the battles for the beachhead cost 340 Canadian lives and another 574 wounded.

TOMORROW'S HISTORY

THE GOOD

NELSON MANDELLA

POPE FRANCIS

AUNG SAN SUU KYI

MALALA YOUSAFZAI

THE BAD

ROBERT MUGABE, ZIMBABWE

BASHAR al-ASSAD, SYRIA

THE UGLY

SUICIDE BOMBERS

Majeed was speaking into the camera minutes before he drove a truck full of explosives into a Syrian prison

Unloved, abused, self-hatred, desperation, loneliness, or true belief in a cause?

THE LESSON

The past, the present and the future walked into a bar ...... the mood became dark, the patrons scurried, the bar tender ducked and the world held its breath.

Only through a balanced view of the past, conscientious but never obsessive, may we accept divergent national customs, embrace decency, meet our daily obligations, and look forward to a world of harmony, tolerance and commitment.