Remembrance Day is for remembering those who killed for their ideals. Everyone who has ever fought or killed has done so for their ideals. So, today, we should should remember everyone who fought and died for their beliefs, whether right or wrong.
Those who fought against the Nazis in WWII are called heros for doing what they thought was right. But those who fought against the Allies did the same thing and we don’t call them heros. And, while I agree they were wrong, there was no opportunity or channel for dialogue. And without dialogue there cannot be change.
This leaves us with a conundrum. The Nazis lost and the Allies won, but the hearts and minds of those who lived but lost were not won. So the problem was attacked but never quashed. This is why the Germans have never fully dealt with the issue of Nazism.
And the issue of WWII was never that of prejudice or racism. The problem was that everyone who fought and killed did so because they believed that by killing others they would prove their ideals. And, in the end, there was no dialogue and therefore nothing was proven or dealt with.
Without dialogue there cannot be change. And war is always the end of dialogue.
3 Comments
You have probably picked the worst example to try and maker your point.
What a load of hogwash! “Everyone who has ever fought or killed has done so for their ideals.” Did you read that in some book? Read Barry Broadfoot’s book “Six War Years” in which combat veterans discussed why they signed up – some for adventure, some because their pals were all doing it, some to escape a miserable marriage – one guy did it to get a pair of decent boots. Ideals really didn’t come into play all that much. That’s something crafted well after the fact, often by those who venerate war as somehow noble.
I buried my Dad this year, a horribly wounded WWII vet. He somehow hung on for 64-years after he was blown up. I just wish he was able to disabuse you on this notion of soldiers fighting for ideals.
Mound of Sound and RWW, read my previous post.
The ideal I was/am talking about is that the life of others is worth less than that of the one pulling the trigger. This is true for everyone holding a gun. It is not about any ism or any other reason or justification for how someone got to the point where they are. To place someone else on a lower tier of society is always a despicable act no matter who does it or for what reason.
A pair of boots is the worst reason I have ever heard of for taking someone elses life.