Gary's views

Gary's weekly views

Each week an article by Gary has appeared in the Plympton Plymstock and Ivybridge News in South West Devon. The articles are published here

D-DAY

To commemorate the 60th anniversary of the D-Day landings I had the privilege of attending the remembrance service on Plymouth Hoe. As I imagined the horrors of that dramatic day I was struck at how young some of those that lost their lives were. So many promising futures were sacrificed so that our democracy – our free way of life – would be saved.

Such events are always moving, but this year was particularly special. For obvious reasons this will almost certainly be the last anniversary of it’s kind for the brave and proud veterans involved. We owe them so much.

Last week I visited Syria on a parliamentary fact-finding tour. While there we met the president, the prime minister and others to discuss terrorism, Iraq and the middle east peace process. I met a number of interesting people, but one conversation I had with a man sticks out in my memory.

Casually I asked him what his favourite country in the world was. Given the height of anti-Americanism in that region I was taken aback by his answer: USA. As we continued our discussion it turned out that he has spent a few years living in America and marvelled at the freedom that was there, speaking (in hushed tones) of how he wished it existed in his own country.

In Britain we have the same freedom, and I worry sometimes that we so easily take it for granted. It was not achieved without cost, and D-Day is one of several reminders of how great the sacrifice for our liberty was. The D-Day anniversary was a chance to remember the past, but also a challenge. A challenge to guard our freedom against those who want to take it away, be it extremist political parties or foreign powers.

But there is another challenge. People in Britain tend to be understandably critical of America at the moment. But it is important to remember that whatever else they may be they are a free land attempting to promote that concept to the rest of the world. The motivation behind such an aim may never be completely pure, and the way it is put into practice may sometimes be flawed. Nonetheless we must never forget that freedom is the ultimate prize. We must work toward a world in which our Syrian friends can one day celebrate the same freedom in his home land that he enjoyed overseas.

posted by Nigel on Monday, June 14, 2004