Remembrance Sunday. Let's talk about Remembrance Sunday. And let's be honest.
I do not like Remembrance Sunday. I am willing to go further than that. I dislike the Poppy Appeal. Most of all, I detest the two minutes' silence.
This - I am aware - is an unpopular view - Jon Snow, the journalist, a few years back caused a furore over refusing to wear a poppy on air - citing "poppy fascism" - the pressure to be seen to be wearing a poppy on air. Yet he stopped short of criticising the appeal per se, insisting in fact, he did have his poppy at home.
I don't.
Here are my reasons why. Firstly, I find it surreal that we commemorate war dead above any other type of dead. Yes, of course charities exist to find cures for cancer, to support disabled children, to rescue abandoned donkeys... but those who have died in a war are exulted beyond those who fell out of windows, got squashed on the M1 or died from TB caught from a passing tramp.
This - in some small but significant way - raises the profile of war. I'll stop short of saying it's glamorised exactly, but it validates war's place in our culture - past and present. It reminds us that actually, it's OK to solve any problems we have by hitting each other with a stick (or whatever the military are using these days), rather than approaching things from a non-violent perspective.
"But Laura," you may say, "the Poppy Appeal does loads of good work helping injured soldiers". I wouldn't deny that. But I would query if it's a charity's responsibility to put right the things that government policy has made go wrong, and - by virtue of their very existence - in some small way again, makes it a little bit more OK to have soldiers injured in the first place - there's a system in place to support them.
"What about the Second World War, Laura? What about Hitler? Would you like to be speaking German and burning Jews?" No, to both of those. And this is probably the hardest part of the argument - if someone else is fighting you - do you have to fight back? I'm going with no. Because yes, the ideology was horrendous - but the world has a way of balancing itself - through resistance, through education, through dialogue, and I don't feel bombs are the best way to do that.
I have friends in the military; friends who have gone out to Afghanistan and Iraq. Friends not all of whom have come home again. Do I feel proud of their sacrifice? No I fucking don't. I feel angry at the waste, and that's pretty much it. For WW1 and WW2 you can multiply that waste by hundreds of thousands. These deaths were not an accident - were not ill luck or fate like cancer or a car crash; groups of men led other men (and these days women) to death.
Finally the two minutes' silence. God, I hate that. Enforced reflection time. A time when we switch our emotions to "a bit sad" but only for a couple of minutes, before we get on with our day jobs again. Enforced reflection is a bit like the compulsory "fun" of a work Christmas party.
Every place I've ever worked, a voice comes over the tannoy, inviting those who'd like to to observe the two minutes' silence. Of course everyone does; you don't want to intrude on someone else's silence. But it's just awkward. Torn between terror at giggling inappropriately, or worrying your office phone is about to ring, no time at all is spent reflecting on the war dead (or any other dead, come to that; see earlier resentment that war dead are somehow more important than other dead). Every single one of the 120 seconds collectively spent by 50 million people is spent feeling slightly socially awkward. Is that a good use of anyone's time? I usually hide in the toilet. The toilets are always full, so I expect I'm not the only one who adopts this strategy.
So I don't wear a poppy, and I won't take part in Remembrance Day services. Because remembering the dead is something we need to do all of the time, not for two minutes on a rainy November morning. And because war is ultimately a choice. One which we all know is the dangerous option. Yes, conscription took that choice away from many - but fundamentally - at some point a choice was made. People chose to fight each other, aware of the consequences. I do not wish to remember that.
7 comments:
Great post and I agree with all of it. I'm the same way and find it very strange that we have this almost enforced emblem pushed upon us. I do respect those who have died in wars and this stand isn't against them or a lack of respect for their memories.
I agree too. A few years ago there was a White Poppy appeal-the money went to charities but was sold in the name of Peace.Ironically ,most churches services DO celebrate Peace on Remembrance Sunday-it is the Media which pushes the sick 'glamour' of the uniforms and parades etc.
I think that what should be played today is that song'War-what is it good for? Absolutely NOTHING!'
I also don't wear a poppy, but for slightly differant reasons. The poppy appeal seems to be morphing dangerously in the public mind with the emotively titled 'help for heroes'.
I think there is a big differance in honouring people who were conscripted to fight, or a civilian killed by a bomb to honouring people who are essentially mercinaries (professional Soldiers) or people guided by some warped sense of patriotism. I'm not saying we don't need armies or soldiers (they're the first people called in natural disasters) but I don't think they should be honoured any more than coal miners or oil rig workers. People fighting who have not been conscripted have made that choice, and I don't have to respect that any more than someone who's put on a uniform and chosen to be a traffic warden. Should I wear a poppy it might imply that I do. And wearing white poppies is fine (but you look a bit like a ponse).
I went to Dresden on the 60th anniversary of the British/allied bombing and saw 9000 real life nazis marching. It's VERY important we remember what scum there is in the world and how important it is (and was) to protect the freedoms we are allowed - especially for children to learn that - but the way we do it at the moment makes it an uncomfortable blur between a paternalistic and moralising history lesson with a misguided hangover of patriotism.
I'll send you a poem about this that I wedged behind the war memorial at school...
P.s. cancer isn't fate, most (not all) cancers are caused by the things people do or don't do -in other words, they're preventable
I think this is an honest and timely Plog that encapsulates what many people now feel. I only disagree with you about the Nazis - I don't think they would have been readily re-educated. They proved, in those countries that they invaded, that their opinions prevailed through propaganda backed by brutality. Sometimes you have to draw a line in the sand and say 'no'. Have a read of Robert Harris' 'Fatherland' to get a flavour of what might have been.
RSN
In general I disagree with the notion of taking a pacifist stance (i.e. the example with the Nazis). A psycho could easily kill a room full of pacifists with a knife.
Likewise with war. Some good is done if we take out crazed dictators hell bent on ethnic cleansing... Sometimes it's the only option for protecting ourselves and others.
I'm not pro-war, and I do share some of your sentiment, particularly about using education and diplomacy as the front line. I'm just wary about not having option of fighting, given the diversity of problems out there (such as theocracies wanting to blow up other countries).
I do share some discomfort with remembrance Sunday though. I remember thinking once that I bet most of the fallen soldiers would rather we use the day to highlight the perils of war, and to get out there and promote peace and understanding.
I use my remembrance two minutes silence to remember how proud British and American soldiers were during the war. They fought against overwhelming odds. Against Nazis who were all evil and only existed to kill people who weren't Nazis.
If Germany had won WW2, we'd all be speaking German right now and we'd be controlled by angry shouting men. I like to think that my grandparents would secretly teach me English in the attic after curfew.
I know all this from watching films.
Considered comments all - thank you.
L x
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