Dear Editor,

What has mankind done for the good of humanity with the hard-fought freedoms that cost the lives of 55 million living souls?

Around Remembrance Day, Nov. 11 each year, when sitting by a cozy warm fireplace, I cannot help but think of the millions of soldiers who were forced to spend many a night in cold, dark manholes dug deep down in earth below.

Yes, indeed, how the world has changed since then.

Right after the war in 1946, the first all-purpose computer came on the scene. In 1958, microchips were invented. In 1960 the first satellite enabled humans to now enjoy 24 hours of live television around the globe.

And who can forget the magic moments when we saw Neil Armstrong step on the moon in 1969?

Then along come the pocket calculators. The first laptop and the famous World Wide Web appeared in 1994, followed by the now famous iPod used by nearly everyone today.

I am sure there will be more mind-boggling inventions just around the corner for us.

And, let us not forget how that Canadian Inventors themselves have patented more than one million inventions since then.

Nonetheless, there is the other side of the story.

On the one, knowledge has never been easier to acquire, with entire libraries available online, with most any kind of research reports available to anyone in a few seconds.

But with all the technological advancements, and conveniences at our fingertips, life seems to be busier than ever before. Could we be neglecting the commonsense, everyday line of thinking?

Teenagers today are inundated with immoral temptations the older generations could not have dreamt of.

Just how many modern-day parents recognize the fact that the most sensitive thing in the universe is the soul of a little child, and fully understand the importance of raising a family in a stable and caring home life?

I wonder what the percentage would be as to the belief that a stable marriage is the moral compass in society? And just what type of moral standards do modern-day parents exemplify and teach their children? How many actually believe that morality itself is a curb, and not a spur?

Somehow, I cannot help but wonder how life would be today if Hitler would have seen his dream fullfilled?

Nonetheless, life goes on no matter what happens to any of us.

Along with millions of other people around the globe, I want to be forever grateful to all those who gave up their lives so that we could live and enjoy these glorious freedoms of choices each new day.

Gertie Pool, Abbotsford