Tuesday 5 August 2014

The futility of war.

Please take the time to read this article:

My father threw his poppy awaiy in disgust

That's one of the most honest articles I've read amongst all the dross that's currently being spouted. As a pacifist, I deplore war and aggression. Surely history has shown that it solves nothing? It's all very well saying 'we should remember them, so that it never happens again' - but it did, little more than 2 decades later, and it continues to happen, and so will it ever be, because man, like most animals, is territorial and naturally aggressive to perceived threats.

I spend quite a bit of time doing genealogical research on mine and my husband's family history, and there's two people that serve to always remind me of the true inequality of war. My grandfather was a humble gardener, who rose up through the ranks and became a highly decorated soldier, ending up as an aide to the Duke of York, later King George VI. On the other hand was my husband's Uncle John - sent home from the front as being 'unfit for service'. He was castigated by his family, and indeed the whole village where he lived, for being a coward. Three weeks later, he committed suicide. Of course, we now understand that he was suffering from PTSD (shell shock). Nobody mourns him. Enough is enough. Let them all rest in peace.