The Poppy season is well under way. All around we see people bearing the Red Poppy produced by the 'Royal British Legion' or 'Poppy Scotland,' which appear two weeks before 'Remembrance Sunday.' This falls annually on November 11th, or the Sunday nearest that.
Since 2014 when we commemorated the centenery of the beginning of the 'Great War for Civilisation,' there has been an upturn in people remembering the two major wars which involved the UK. The conflict in Afghanistan and Iraq also awoke the cost of war to peoples minds.
During 2014 there were many tasteful acts of remembrance throughout the land, however, it has to be said that many were less so and indeed often, shall we say, tacky? The more 'tacky' acts of remembrane contnue apace and it displeases me, and I find many others, to see what was once a solem act of remembrance becoming and 'event' smilar to Christmas, New Year or any other commercial driven date. Someone suggested today we may soon see 'Remembrance cards' in the shops and suddenly one was found via Twitter! Sorry to say this is not remembrance but commercial money making!
The RBL and Poppy Scotland now have to ensure the public buyers obtain remembrance Poppies and gifts from themselves (personally I find some of these tacky but the money goes direct to the charity) and not from elsewhere as many claim to donate to the Legion but no proof is offered.
This is a possible criminal misuse of Remembrance!
Many displays in pubs, shops, and other premisis are often tacky, sometimes ridiculous, and give the feeling of either celebration or a rather ridiculous misunderstandng of what war means. Today also we find the 'Little Englander Brexiteer' making the most of these 'events' to publish his 'patriotism' while in fact he merely offers an antipathy towards foreigners and claims 'English superiority' over them.
This too is not remembrance!
Maybe it is time for a national debate about what remembrance is, remembrance History, and how we can remember the long forgotten by some war dead of all sides and what the Historical wars really meant to this nation?
3 comments:
That debate would be a good idea!
What I'm not keen on is the plastic flimsy wreaths that are laid at the foot of War Memorials. These are probably cheaper to buy and lots of groups leave them at the memorials, but they get easily blown away. On the one hand its good that people remember and that is the main thing, but to me it does seem a bit tacky and cheapskate.
Fly, I would like one.
Dave, Locally, in the Gardens, they are well looked after and last for much of the year usually.
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