Victory day: Hyping on the horror
Our society is full of traditions that we take into consideration only at specific dates in the calendar. These include Mother’s Day, International Women’s day, Father’s day, Victory Day, and many more. Once a year the society suddenly remembers that it has moms, which did an incredible job of growing up in this society, or fathers, who are support and protection of a family. Once in a year, the society treats mothers, women, fathers as queens and kings, but then forgets until the end of the day. It is also a good opportunity to post a story to Instagram with your mom, saying some kind words, and get the hype on being a nice daughter… But it ends quite fast. At the end of the day, everything will be back to usual.
The same thing goes with Victory day. On the 9th of May in 1945, World War II ended, and people finally could sleep in peace. Victory day has a deep meaning behind it - this day exists for everyone in the world to remember the horror of war, remember the relatives who died for you to be able to live in peace. We have to remember that, no matter what, we cannot repeat it.
Nevertheless, after some time, this meaning got away, and Victory day turned into another opportunity for hype. Once in a year we watch parades of military technologies, we invite veterans to the events, greet them, provide “victory” discounts, treat them like heroes. We post to Instagram or Facebook about it, post photos with veterans. The coolest people put stickers on cars… Once in a year, we remember that veterans exist.
But after May 9th, everything is back. We forget about veterans and treat them as no one. Many veterans struggle from attacks or flashbacks from the war, some of them leave behind the poverty line. Some of them have no one to ask to go for groceries or pay for bills, as pension is too low, that the veteran cannot allow the basic needs. However, instead of helping veterans, at least once a year, we shoot fireworks, spend thousands of dollars on parades, even merch. We read poems, dance, sing - and invite veterans to these for them to recall the horrors of the war.
Our grandmothers and grandfathers fought for us. They died for a peaceful future. They survived to see a nicer world without war. They are the real heroes that survived hell, and we remember about the heroes once in a year. For a hype.
Victory day MUST take place in a world, so at least once a year we will remember the horrors of war and understand that we have to avoid it at all costs. This is a day for us to look around and see how we can help veterans and what we can do for them. Not with dances, songs, poems, or stories to Instagram - but with real actions. Together we can change the world. Together we can make a difference. So, why don’t we do it?
2087
turnnoffyourmind
snowghoul
tangentwithtanner
theartofmadeline
