As Palestine is effectively wiped off the face of the Earth, and the politicians of the West seem determined to distance themselves from the long-standing UN two-state solution, and as Rishi Sunak is faced off by Sir Mark Rowley over the legitimacy of peaceful protest, I was left pondering about the reasons for the Armistice Day gatherings generally.
In the past, they have been described as ‘commemorations’ – implying that they served as a memorial to the millions of humans who gave their lives in war (primarily the Great War – a propaganda term if ever there was one). We tend to ignore the deaths of the losers and recall the ‘gallantry’ of the victors. I’ve never been happy with the idea of ‘wearing your poppy WITH PRIDE’. Humility seems more appropriate.
More recently, it became clear that, in WW1 at least, a horse had greater financial value to the war effort than a human being and in some quarters, at least, we have widened our reflections to the suffering of animals. Eleven million troops died, thirteen million civilians, and eight million horses. It wasn’t just horses, of course, far more dogs, pigeons, sheep and goats were all ‘enlisted’ and they had no inkling of why, what it was all about, or even why conditions were so poor and the noises so frightening. We didn’t recognise PTSD in soldiers then, let alone the trauma experienced by an animal. Today, if you look closely at my poppy, you will see that there is a purple one too. I wear it not with humility but EMBARRASSMENT – that my species could have abused them so brutally.
The response of the media to the genocide in Palestine has been predictable. Right-wing journalists side with the Israeli government. Left-wing journalists attempt to present a wider perspective but are accused of siding with terrorists or being ‘anti-semitic’. The UN represents us all and it is pretty clear that what is happening is unjust, ethnic cleansing.
If you look back to the post-WW1 media, by the 1930s, there was a polarisation occurring too. Hate, especially around ‘otherisms’, was emerging, and to counter this the pacifist movement had a voice too. In 1933, the Peace Pledge Union produced its first white poppy. They are still produced. If you look closely you’ll see that my poppy has a PPU one too. I wear that with what I think is best described as ANGER. Anger that there are still people out there who place themselves and their tribe above others. Anger that there are still people who think that their tribe’s views and aims should take precedence over the collective whole.
Our media today rarely recognise that the original Armistice events served a dual purpose. Yes, they were intended to renew memories of those who had died in that World War, but they also reminded survivors of their DUTY, their OBLIGATION, to prevent a further conflict.
The word, ‘duty’ is overlain with an external responsibility. Your duty is to others and you have usually foregone some of your own rights to accept it. It is a term that implies subservience. ‘Obligation’, on the other hand, implies that you are doing something because of an inner value. We can oblige others to do something, but whether they do or not is their choice.
So, today, I wear my poppies with this in mind. I remember with humility my Great Uncle whose life was taken in its prime; I am embarrassed that we continue to deny other species their lives; I am angry that we are so uncivilised that we can seek to exterminate whole tribes based on mythical differences; I hope to remind myself and others that we are obliged to prevent further bloodshed in the pursuit of unjustifiable aims.