Soooooo, topical blog update for today, methinks. Obviously
today is Armistice Day/Remembrance Day/ Poppy Day so I thought I’d have my two
cents on the matter. I always ponder it quite strongly when it gets to this
time of year, so I may as well share with you folks.
For me, Armistice Day
is a very sombre and serious occasion; not because I personally knew anyone who
died in either of the world wars, nor did I lose any grandparents that way. Put
simply, I completely disagree with the idea of war and think that we should
remember those who gave their lives fighting for their country, wherever that
may be.
Interesting phrase, that: ”Gave their lives”. It makes it
sound like they had a choice at all times to lay down themselves as a
sacrifice. We know, of course, that that isn’t the case, especially with forced
subscription. There are some soldiers who did choose to give themselves
entirely to protect their friends and comrades, but many of them had the
“decision” forced upon them at one point in the process or another.
So today we are asked to remember those who died in the
First and Second World Wars, as well as all wars before and since. I think this
is a beautiful thing to do; so many families have been torn apart by war that
it makes perfect sense to have a day on which we honour the fallen. Plus, it’s
one of the few ‘special days’ in our calendar that has yet to be overly
commercialised; there are the poppies (of course), but they’re for charity. There’s
also the Remembrance Service on the Beeb on the Saturday night before Armistice
Sunday and parade, but I wouldn’t say that was commercial because a) It’s the
Beeb, and b) it’s an excellent idea for those who can’t attend a Sunday service
or march but still want to remember the fallen soldiers.
I think Armistice Day is an excellent idea because, as they say, lest we forget...
