Tsunami Remembrance

Today, at the Ottawa Civic Centre, a memorial was held to commemorate the lives lost in the Indian Ocean earthquake and subsequent tsunami in South East Asia last week.

I was struck by the poignancy of our Prime Minister's message. I don't think of Paul Martin as the most eloquent of public speakers but today I was a proud Canadian with respect and admiration for what he had to say and how he said it. His message was one of compassion as would be expected but his words were less those of a distant politician doing his duty than those of a statesman speaking personally and with conviction to the diverse Canadian public.

We are all affected by this latest of world catastrophes and share in the horror, grief, and compassion. It is difficult in the context of all the devastation to think of hope and opportunity.

Yet, if there is a glimmer of good that can emerge from the tsunami and its victims, it is that perhaps a strong majority of earthlings can become enlightened, to experience some kind of epiphany that allows us for a moment to realize the preciously fragile value of life.

We're only here for a little while, let's make a mark that generations to come can look upon with pride and admiration and with inspiration to go forward themselves with unity and hope, bypassing the lure of oppression, war, destruction, and disparate levels of well-being.