On November 11th, 1918, the war to end all wars came to an end.

Of course, it wasn’t the end of war. It isn’t even true that World War I ended on that date; there was an armistice on the Western Front, but fighting continued across the collapsing Ottoman and Russian empires for some time. But it remains true that the reason we are celebrating anything today is that a great and terrible war finally came to an end, and not because the enemy surrendered unconditionally, but simply because they came to the conclusion that fighting on was no longer a viable option, and sued for peace.

It’s is completely impossible to imagine such a celebration today. In our wars today, we cannot even describe what victory looks like; I couldn’t even tell you who might have the stature to sue for peace.

My son is growing up in a world where “armistice” is not a word in common use, but “veteran” always will be – we’re making new ones every day.

Are we sure this is the only possible world for him to grow up in?