The Government's announcement in 2012 that it was to spend millions on celebrating, oh sorry, commemorating, the centenary of the slaughter of the First World War must have brought tears of joy to meeja types. With just over a week till the start date no doubt they'll be gearing themselves up for a feeding frenzy. All rather sickening really. Bookshops' shelves groan with the latest WW1 tasteful tomes as publishers seek to cash in. Not to be outdone, in fact, way out in the vanguard as would be of keeper of the nations memories, the BBC is touting this little touring circus designed to "reflect on the dramatic impact the war had on families and communities", nice work if you can get it. And when this bean feast is over we will, to paraphrase Lloyd George, have to go through it again in 25 years and at three times the cost.
It's the same here. Our federal government glorifies the military- all the while treating veterans of the Afghan conflict with disdain- and trashing our country's good name to behave like a hawk on the world stage. They're spending a lot of money on commemorations that are more celebrations, particularly celebrations of the Prime Minister.
ReplyDeleteI can't wait til that party is drummed out of office.
We're certainly seeing a lot about WWI here as well. It's not my favorite subject, but there are some who'd say (and I don't disagree) that it's important to remember so as not to repeat it. Which we have already done and will likely continue to do.
ReplyDeleteI think it's the height of hypocrisy to do this when we're still embroiled in wars all over the place. I read recently that Wilfred Owen's poetry had been excluded from commemorations because he didn't have a positive message of reconciliation. That says it all for me.
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