Rememberance and Respect go Hand in Hand

This past Monday, my school had the wonderful opportunity to listen to Romeo Dallaire, a highly respected and retired General. He spoke a lot about his experiences in Rwanda and his promotion of peace. As students, we were told by him that we have the power to shape the ideal, peaceful world we desire. After listening to him and reading the article "Get ready for Generation Z" in class, my expectations and optimism for our future only grew.
The following day, we as a school were given yet another chance to pay our respects to those who deserved it: our veterans. We attentively absorbed the messages given to us by Dr. Bill Winegard, who told us about our bleak reality as it is. In Canada, regular people become heroes by defending their country in wars. Typically, in movies or novels, heroes are rewarded in the finest way possible: sometimes showered with jewels, riding home on elephants, or even having a statue created in honor of them. Unfortunately, the Canadian government apparently doesn't see this fit for our everyday heroes. Instead, the veterans come home with physical and mental illnesses imposed upon them by the war. So what does the government do? Nothing; and in some cases, worse than nothing. After these people spent years and years risking their lives for the citizens of their country - including those higher up in power - they come home and are set aside as a mere inconvenience for the government.
I guess we'll just have to wait for our generation to be old enough for politics.