On this Remembrance Day, a study in contrasts: The statue on the left is one in Parc Saint-Viateur in Outremont, while the others are from the Cenotaph in Westmount. The latter is of a clean, confident soldier protected by an angel. The former, despite its "Glorious Victory" cry, shows the sorrow of war.
It is no accident that one Montreal suburb--an Anglophone one--chose to celebrate a triumphant army while the other --considered to be Francophone--mourns. Anglophones in the two World Wars were far more ready to fight than Francophones, even though it is clear from the list of the dead in Parc Saint-Viateur than many Francophones fought and died too.
Never forget that: "War is Not Healthy for Children and Other Living Things." In the long run it is saner to mourn than celebrate.
Photo of Cenotaph from westmount.org
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