Heroes and victims


“…politicians still describe WWI as a war of freedom and liberty, it wasn’t in the same sense as World War Two, when a truly evil government was bent on conquest and enslavement. …It was a war about access to markets and raw materials and the personal rivalries of royal cousins, their generals and politicians…





Travelling backroads of Europe, I felt unsettled as we encountered innumerable monuments and memorials that celebrate offerings to the gods of war. I couldn’t help but feel the commemorations were there to encourage future generations to be available when more lives were to be expended. If the offer of glory didn’t work, militarists ensured that pacifists who cared not to serve as potential cannon fodder were ostracized. British writer Gareth Platt, in World War 1 100th Anniversary: Remembering the Heroes who Refused to Fight, wrote,



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6 replies »

  1. I agree. Keep in mind that German soldiers fought to preserve their freedoms. They believed the homeland was threatened, even surrounded, by enemies. They were right, too.

    War is often claimed to be about protecting unchangeable principles. Yet, over time alliances change. Germany was an enemy of Canada for half the 20th century but a friend and ally for the other half. Canada was hostile to China for about 50 years, then saw it as a desirable economic partner, money lender and acquirer of this country's resource rich lands. Young Americans were ordered to bomb and kill Vietnamese until 1975. Now, the order is for Banh Mi and Pho.


  2. I meant Germans were right about being threatened by enemies before and during WWI. Although WW2 was partly an outgrowth of the “Great War,” German leadership was collectively insane in the 1930s and 1940s and, if there is an afterlife, they ought to be burning there now.


  3. What I find so amusing, is while the politicians are out and about with their photo ops and great warrior or hide in the closet P.M. mumbles on about great sacrifice, etc. P.M. hide in the closet has yet to establish Remembrance day as a national stat. I guess there are his corporate friends and their profit margins to consider.

    All these commercials and speeches are nice but lets get real, the majority do not care about the Veterans. If they did, the Veterans would have adequate health care so they were not killing themselves, at the rate they have been. If the government cared about Veterans they would not have ripped them off by changing how they were paid after injury. No, the glorification of the Veterans is actually all about the glorification of the politicians and their photo ops.

    Now if P.M. hide in the closet really cared about the Veterans, he would can the commercials and put the money into services for the Vets.

    Why this Remembrance Day is so special is beyond me. Prior to being killed, no one knew these 2 soldiers, much less cared. They both were killed by mentally ill people, and we have a national cry in.

    A military is a necessary evil which most countries require. Those who serve ought to be compensated for their work and their sacrifices. They ought not to be used and trotted out by politicians when it suits the politicians.


  4. The “Eye” helped his father during the 1970's, running the local “Remembrance Day's services for the Legion.

    In 1973, barely 60 people turned out to the service, which from what I can recall, was on a cold wet dreary day; even the local MLA was elsewhere and party hack was sent as a stand in. In fact the local MLA only appeared if an election was near. The MP for the area was there as well as a CAF major (who lived in the area and was cajoled to take the salute) and my dad, being 6' 4″, was the standard-bearer in the parade, MC for the services, and again carrying the flag back to the legion, where he retired for the day having “tots” and talking about the war.

    As an aside, most war stories my dad and his compatriots told were about military incompetence, not actual fighting.

    As the 70's progressed, my dad turned a fragmented and ramshackle service to a fairly well oiled machine and when he did his last '11th in the early 80's, attendance was near 500 people and three bands! If the MA did not show up, embarrassing queries were sent to Victoria, the party leader and to the press (my doing, haha!). Our MP always attended services.

    I was the go-for, making sure power was not interrupted, laying out wreaths, setting up chairs, etc., etc.

    What I detested most was the bull-shit speeches from politicos about freedom, etc., because most didn't care and would rather be tucked up in a warm bed than standing in cold November weather.

    Herr Harper, the consummate politician is using the assault on Parliament Hill to further his fascist agenda for his cronies, rubbing their collective hands to get rich on the back of the Canadian taxpayer.

    As e.a.f. states; “Why this Remembrance Day is so special is beyond me.” I tend to agree and the only answer is a collective embarrassment by many for not caring about foreign wars, foreign policy, the military, or even the mentally ill, caused many to attend this years services.

    As for me, I don't go, as a protest against the Legion, because as my father was slowly dying of an incurable disease,(which being in the Navy, may have caused it) and going to the local legion to inquire if their was any benefits my dad could avail himself of; was fobbed off with a mind numbing excuse from the branch president; “What the hell has you father done to deserve anything?”

    Let's see now, serving with the RCN in a U-boat hunter killer group in the North Atlantic in winter, for one.

    Even those who repeat ad nauseum, “Lest we forget”, forgot!


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