For my younger readers:
I haven't written a book about war. Maybe one day I will as I feel very strongly about it. In the meanwhile you may like to try:
'Peaceweavers' by Julia Jarman
'Private Peaceful' by Michael Morpurgo
'When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit' by Judith Kerr
'Coming Home' by Michelle Magorian
'The Diary of Anne Frank' by Anne Frank
'A Little Piece of Ground' by Elizabeth Laird
They're all very good but the last is my favourite. If you don't know much about the Palestine/Israel conflict, it's a good place to start. Very informative and very moving.
And for my more wrinkly readers:
I struggle with Remembrance Day. Although I respect the desire and need to remember all those who have fallen in defence of this country, I find myself with mixed feelings about it. These days, I choose to where a White Poppy http://www.whitepoppy.org.uk/ rather than a red one, a sign that, although I respect all those who have died for my freedom, I, as a pacifist, do not support the concept of war. It could be argued that nor do all those who wear a Red Poppy but by doing so they support the British Legion - and I am not sure I can do that. Although I know they do admirable work for war veterans and the bereaved, I cannot be comfortable with the Remembrance Day parades they organise, which with their bracing marching, Last Post and display of medals, cast an air of militarism over the proceedings. I am very organised in my giving, selecting charities to support each year, thus avoiding feeling guilty if I choose not to give to a tin rattler (though they often get something as I've done enough tin rattling myself to know how disheartening it can be) - and I'm afraid the British Legion doesn't match my criteria. So it has to be a White Poppy for me.
I am the daughter of someone who refused to collect his war medals. Even though he was called up when he was 17 and served in the Air Force for the whole of WW2 he didn't think he'd done anything to be proud of - he just did what he had to do and hated it. He never talked about it and my mother warned me not to ask. I do think he did something to be proud of though. He was in the advance party that went into Belsen at the end of the war. He spent a long time burying the dead. I don't suppose they give medals for that sort of thing and I don't suppose he would have wanted one anyway. But he got out his poppy and went to church on Remembrance Day. I remember his face, tight-lipped and distant. If I have mixed feelings about it, I'm sure his were a thousand times more so.
As a practising Christian, I find Remembrance Day in church very odd. We follow the teachings of the Prince of Peace. If we grovelled before him, begging for forgiveness for the horror we have caused and continue to cause, I would join in. If we held an all night prayer vigil, intercessing for war-torn regions and foreign policy makers, I would go. What we do is very different. We create something beautiful, poignant and poetic, with a dash of militarism, more so in some churches than others, and speak of ultimate sacrifice and years not condemning, when in fact we are talking about teenagers who were slaughtered on masse, riddled with bullets on barbed wire, eaten alive by gangrene, choked to death on mustard gas, burnt alive on oil-slicked seas, driven mad by shell-shock or simply shot if they couldn't stand it any longer. And that was just one war and only scratching the surface.
I have great respect for the pastor of the church I attend and know that he puts huge effort into the Remembrance Day service, making it dignified and moving and a comforting tribute for those who lost loved ones. I came home in tears on Sunday and so I should. But it seems that most people manage to retain the stiff upper lip throughout. Is all we're managing to do remembrance. Because if so, why are we bothering? I have been bereaved several times and I have no problem remembering that. I don't need a special day to do it on. Aren't we told that Remembrance Day is about it 'never happening again'. And if that's it's function, it's singularly useless. Because it does happen. It's happening now. And it seems to me that it will do so again and again and again. Because instead of facing the horror, we romanticise it; instead of acknowledging the utter degredation, we give it dignity.
So perhaps we should stop being dignified and quiet and romantic about it; perhaps we should be brash and loud and realistic. Instead of two minutes of silence, we could have two minutes of screaming. And if our throats are sore afterwards, maybe then we will remember the agony war causes. And if we have a sleepless night praying, then maybe we will remember those who can't sleep because they are being bombed. And if, instead of standing in silence, we kneel and abase ourselves, begging forgiveness and the will to avoid more, maybe we will remember those humiliated by torturers. And then maybe, instead of remembering for one day once a year, we will be active peacemakers on every day of every year. And then, at last, we won't need Remembrance Day any more.
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3 comments:
OK, i feel quite pinned back against the wall by that but YOU ARE SO RIGHT about so much. You have articulated so many hard truths in one post that I'm going to have to read this again and again to let it all sink in.
I lead Sunday School for the 11s to 14s on Remembrance Sunday and i thought it would be good to talk about Christian thinking on War. The kids - all boys - were of one mind - if something's wrong in the world you go out there and kick ass until it's right... Dear God what are we teaching them?
And yet, and yet. I can't call myself a total pacifist because I would have fought against Hitler. In extremis, I do believe in a Just War. The second world war has elements of that Just-ness about it, though it was in no way conducted as a true Just WAr (in Christian terms) would have been.
I wouldn't have fought in the First World War (no one would have let me, obviously) or in any other war in which Britain has been involved since as i think they have all been to do with political and strategic advantage. But defeating Hitler seems like a thing which just had to be done.
What do you think?
I think I have been useless with keeping up with my blog this week and I do apologise! re Hitler, tough, tough question! I think that the German situation before WW2 was disastrous, largely the result of the carve-up after WW1 so we had got ourselves into a vicious downward spiral. Hitler wouldn't have been able to grab the power that he did, if we hadn't messed up so badly in the first place. That said, what do you do to stop the rot? I have no answers but I am inspired by Walter Wink's short book 'Jesus and Nonviolence - a Third Way' which recounts examples of non-violence and passive resistance being more effective and resulting in less loss of life than war, even in some apparently intractable situations.
I'm posting this that Mary sent to me as she said that I could! It's mostly to do with an earlier blog but I don't suppose many people read back - and this has just come in so thought it would be good to post here - and some of it's to do with Remembrance Day! Meg
I have been reading your blog and keeping up with your thoughts etc. I have been going over the social action theme quite a lot – especially when I reflect how active I was in my 20’s and 30’s and how relatively little I do now. Life does change with age and responses to situations change with the ability to act and perhaps having a wider view of things. Also time is limited and you have to think where you are most effective – as you do with your charitable giving. If one is frantically taken up with good causes at the expense of your family or health then it might be self-defeating. It is easy to make a lot of noise and not actually achieve much – I think of Philip’s Kosova trip in this context. Personally I do a job that is about making a difference and do campaign on certain things such as transport, overseas aid, mental health, wildlife but I think it is all a drop in the ocean. I listened to On Your Farm this morning – it was an organic farmer from Oxfordshire – a purist, who will only accept distributors who can do their deliveries on foot and does not use animal manure. As the presenter said at the end though – you have to balance this against the constant tracks of aircraft in the sky. I think of this as I do my daily cycle instead of driving and then have to wait 5 minutes to cross the road because there are so many cars! This doesn’t make me give up my individual statements and I can only hope that the synergy of like-minded people doing their best will change trends. Another however – if everyone was like me and questions everything they buy – do I really need it – there would be mass unemployment and no interesting towns, cafes etc to enjoy. As my father used to say to me as we talked about these issues – me with my socialist views and he with his Conservative but selfless views (active Rotary and Church membership and thoughtless generosity) there is no Eldorado!
Complex thoughts on Remembrance Sunday too. Andrew held the Union Flag in our service and I was proud of him as he walked up the aisle and the service was thought provoking and not remotely glorifying war. I never used to buy a poppy for similar reasons to you and had a white one instead. However knowing that the money is helping ex-service people has changed my thinking recently.
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