So what have we done? Has 90 years of standing before cenotaphs, 90 years of standing for a moment of silence and 90 years of seeing the colours lowered changed the world for the better? I want to say yes but I have such a hard time doing so. Twenty years later the sons of the First World War fought the second, then Korea and then less than twenty years ago Canadians went to war again in Operation Desert Storm (Gulf War 1). And now ninety years and millions of poppies after that first November 11, Canada is involved in a war in Afghanistan. Our greedy southern neighbour is involved in two, with us in Afghanistan and with the Coalition of the Willing (say that with a straight face) in Iraq. Why? Again our government says that our cause is righteous. They say we are there to help the Afghan people, to rebuild their society, eliminate the exploitation of women by lifting the veil (pardon the pun but I couldn’t resist), and generally to make Afghanistan a liberal democratic haven in the center of Asia (that’s where Afghanistan is, Central Asia. It is so sad that most Canadians believe it is in the Middle East. How can someone support a war when they don’t even know where it is?). But this sounds suspiciously familiar. Why should we and why do we believe them?
Even the news interviews with command personnel are hauntingly familiar. I watched a broadcast the other night and if I closed my eyes I would have sworn that the officer speaking was Bill Westmoreland outside MACV Headquarters in Saigon. Exactly the same complaints are being made. The media is not focussing on all the positive things we are doing here but rather the negative aspects of the war. That’s right out of Westmoreland’s playbook. General Westmoreland said that television would destroy America. The media at least (in print form) sure destroyed his comfy little war at My Lai. The use again in Afghanistan of body counts as a measure of success is sadly familiar too. I wonder if they have returned to cutting off ears to prove kills as well?
But so many believe, blind to the inconsistencies and stock cliches. They seem to desperately want to believe, need to believe. If anyone questions the justifications for war they are met with anger and astonishment that they could be so stupid and heartless as to question what those brave boys are doing. Even today, Remembrance Day, when the announcement came to observe a minute of silence it was accompanied with the admonishment to do so in honour of those who had fought and died for our freedom in the two world wars, Korea and who are currently fighting for our freedom in Afghanistan. But as I said in the first piece their was no question of freedom in World War One. Perhaps in World War Two the argument has more plausibility but Korea and Afghanistan are examples of geopolitical power struggles that had and have nothing to do with my freedom or yours. But if one challenges the statement, one is labelled a cad. Young men died, how can you say that they died for nothing and still look yourself in the mirror? How can I not say that they died for nothing and still look in that mirror. To accept this self delusion is to guarantee that more young men will die. And this time I will be responsible because I said nothing. Because I didn’t want to be censured by my peers I remained quiet.
Pastor Martin Niemoller’s words haunt my thoughts on this Remembrance Day:
“First they came for the communists and I did not speak out because I was not a communist;
Then they came for the trade unionists and I did not speak out because I was not a trade unionist;
Then they came for the Jews and I did not speak out because I was not a Jew;
Then they came for me and there was no one left to speak for me.”
I hope these simple lines will infect your thoughts as well. Perhaps together we can put an end to this madness.
