Started world war in imperial glory full#
Perhaps as part of the celebration Kipling's poem Tommy should feature prominently – but that would ask for a level of self-awareness and self-criticism politicians do not possess.īy June 2014, the full impact of the cuts will be being felt, summer weather will possibly have arrived, and a very real threat of public opposition and demonstration may well exist. We still fight meaningless wars and sacrifice troops at the whims of politicians and their backers in the defence industries. Rudyard Kipling's words seem apt: "If any question why we died/ Tell them, because our fathers lied." By their incompetent treatment of Germany, the politicians helped lay the seeds for the rise of fascism despite warnings of the risks. The politicians failed the soldiers during the war, and their treatment of returning soldiers was disgraceful. I imagine, though, that they will be used by current politicians for their own ends. Hopefully, the government will use the commemorations to allow reflection on the causes of the war, its impact on later events in Europe and the conduct of the politicians involved. The name is succinct, entirely accurate, memorable and has no flavour of jingoism. National wars already have a title: civil wars.
Wars are never national they are international. You say we need a new name for the Imperial War Museum, which is right and proper, but by offering "National" as an alternative to "Imperial" you fall into the same trap of implying that these wars are "our" wars. We need to recognise that in any war all sides must share responsibility, either for the war itself or for the events that led up to it. You are absolutely right in your editorial ( Learning the right lessons from history, 12 October) to say that Germany must be involved in any commemoration of the first world war.
Started world war in imperial glory how to#
How to commemorate the centenary of the start of the first world war? Put the words of the late Harry Patch, the last surviving British soldier, on every war memorial: "War is nothing but organised murder." Then indict all the war criminals who are still at large, including the merchants of death, the military/industrial complexes in all the major countries, that supply the means and are therefore accessories before the fact.įormer co-chair, World Disarmament Campaign Could we not use this anniversary as an opportunity for deep reflection and events designed to promote a determined and urgent quest for demilitarisation and the development of capacities for negotiation, quiet diplomacy and the serious study of non-violent people power and its potential? That is what the future of our nation and all others requires.
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