[Xmca-l] Re: Armistice/Veterans, what's in a name?

[Tonyan, Holli A]

I contribute seldom to this list and am a bit more of an observer, but Mike, your statements and questions prompted a contribution.  You reminded me of my time in Australia when the history of 11/11 was so present in so many towns and cities and memorialized in many neighborhoods of Melbourne where I lived.  The formal city memorial held a lovely ceremony and the city stopped to honor the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month.  I understood the meaning of the day so much more clearly from just a few short years there than I had from all of my life in the US before those years.  That may have been more true because I was an outsider there.  Yet, I am struck at how the renaming you point to so erases the history of the day as also illustrated by the Google image and the many advertising campaigns that now so mark the holiday here in the US.  NPR did a nice story about veterans' responses to the green light campaign Walmart has begun and the yellow ribbon campaigns.  Many Veterans said they did not want to be memorialized, but wanted opportunities to provide leadership, support for the healing and grieving and opportunity for those who are not.

So, you ask why are the Google vet faces smiling and we can also ask why there is so little memory of the grief and support for the grieving.

Best wishes,
Holli

________________________________________
From: xmca-l-bounces+holli.tonyan=csun.edu@mailman.ucsd.edu <xmca-l-bounces+holli.tonyan=csun.edu@mailman.ucsd.edu> on behalf of mike cole <mcole@ucsd.edu>
Sent: Wednesday, November 11, 2015 8:41 PM
To: eXtended Mind, Culture, Activity
Subject: [Xmca-l]  Armistice/Veterans, what's in a name?

A few days ago I commented on the names given to a national holiday on Nov
11 which, in the US, have changed during my life time from armistice day to
memorial day to veterans day. I noted that the BBC has a big spread on
Armistice day.... images of death, commemoration, grieving. On google, when
I log in, there are pictures of a rainbow coalition of young adults in
uniform, smiling.... at what? at how wonderful it will be to become a
veteran?
Why are they smiling, have they forgotten to anticipate the grieving?

mike


--

It is the dilemma of psychology to deal as a natural science with an
object that creates history. Ernst Boesch