Conflict

I have tremendously mixed thoughts about Remembrance.

I deeply want to remember and respect those who died in wars; but not to limit that to those who served, or indeed serve, in allied forces. 

I want to remember the civilians, the Jews, the Russians (whose death toll in both World Wars far, far exceeds ours), and so on.

I rail against the militarism of the red poppy and the hypocrisy of PM's laying wreaths with one hand and selling arms to fuel wars with the other.

I'm not wholly comfortable with the white poppy either, or rather with the implication that I'm a pacifist.  I don't have that sort of courage.  I know full well that if my family was threatened, I'd defend, to the death if necessary.

But this year I'm especially angry with the hypocrisy of making a special thing of remembrance of those who died protecting us from nationalistic, egotistic and bigoted aggressors - two years after seemingly hysterical mass voting for exactly those traits.