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I may do I may not! Whats that got do do with anything??
I for one am proud to have received a pack of 5 white poppies in the post today. ‘Be prepared for the negative comments,’ I was warned. Maybe so, but why should there be negative comments?
The purpose of the White Poppy that I wear at this time of year is not to insult serving officers, veterans or anyone connected to or affected by the Armed Forces or war. Its purpose is to grieve and remember the dead and anyone affected by armed conflict, but remembering that war is in fact, an unnecessary evil.
If I want to express gratitude or honour for the fallen, or survivors, why should I have to do it through a Royal British Legion? What if I want to pay tribute to everyone – anywhere in the world at any point in history – who has done what they believe to be right by their country, and people who’ve been affected by their actions?
The White Poppy Movement, (The Peace Pledge Union), was started by wives, daughters, sisters, fiancées etc. of fallen servicemen in WWI, who’d said, ‘Enough is enough,’ so let’s not fool ourselves that wearing a White Poppy is a move specifically aimed at offending service families. It isn’t.
To fight for one’s country is a brave thing to do. Of that, let there be no doubt. Is fighting, killing and suffering, honourable? No. But holding that belief is not synonymous with believing that service men and women, their families, and civilians affected by armed conflict the world over, shouldn’t be respected and paid tribute to.
Wearing a White Poppy simply shows that yes, one respects servicepeople and pays tribute to them, and yes, one honours the dead, but that above that, above the tragic human nature to result to killing to resolve conflicts which, in reality, the individuals on the ground have nothing to do with, there still exists the belief that war cannot ever be just.
Just – to the innocent civilian blown to pieces by an IED. Just – to our grandfathers and great-grandfathers whose battalions came under constant fire in Burma and elsewhere. Just – to the young men and women who fought an illegal political war in Iraq and are still on the front line in Afghanistan.
Perhaps the recognition of that fact above else is the greatest honour of all.
