I got some way into making a post about doubts I have over
the Armistice Day tradition. It was becoming too long, too tedious, and so I
abandoned it. One thing I don’t want to remain unsaid, though, is this:
I have some difficulty with the repeated use of the phrase ‘showing
respect for those who gave their lives.’ It isn’t the ‘showing respect’ bit I
have a problem with; that’s fine. What bugs me when I hear the last three words, though,
is the fact that, in most wars with the highest death tolls, the majority of
the dead were either civilians or conscripted service personnel being forced to
do as they were ordered. And so they didn’t exactly give their lives; they had their
lives taken from them by the people who started the wars.
2 comments:
That last paragraph should be in a quote book. Seriously. If you don't mind, i'm going to quote you on that.
It just always struck me that if you drag a man away from his wife and family, then send him to the front to have his head blown off, it's a bit of an insult to both him and his family to say he 'gave' his life.
But it's a complex issue. There are other ways of looking at it, I suppose.
Quote away. My honour.
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