An essay from November 2015, updated.
A few years ago I found myself discussing poppies and Remembrance Day with a friend. She was objecting to being forced to observe the rituals of a minute’s silence and the current rise of “poppy fascism” – the trashing of public figures who don’t wear poppies at this time of year. Her perfectly valid point was that honouring “The Glorious Dead” was hypocritical and dishonest, given that there's nothing glorious about war at all and that so many of the wars Britain (let’s face it, most countries) has fought have been morally wrong. We both agreed that not everyone observing the minute’s silence would actually be thinking about war dead, and people should be allowed to wear whatever they like.
I also had to accept her points about war. The Great War may have been historically inevitable but it was also futile and generally in pursuit of imperial gain. The Iraq war was always, always wrong. Even where the wars might have been morally right, as in Afghanistans, our armed forces have arguably achieved little. As a country, we don’t seem to pick our fights very well.
But that’s rather missing the point of Remembrance Day. In remembering those who died, we shouldn’t be grading the worth of each fallen individual according to the moral value of the conflicts they took part in. The armed forces – particularly in the United Kingdom which has no conscription and we rely on professional soldiers – do our dirty work for us. They act on behalf of an elected government, a government which we as a society elect to do take war and peace decisions on our behalf. Walking away from our responsibilities to our armed forces leads us down a dangerous path. The last thing we want are politicised armed forces; experience across the world suggests that doesn't usually lead to good outcomes.
Taking the Iraq eaxample, our armed forces loyally did as they were asked, as we would expect them to do in all situations except when they’re asked to flout the Geneva Convention and commit a war crime. That so many British people didn't approve of the Iraq war itself was a matter between us and our government. It’s not for the military to contradict a democratically arrived-at policy. In that sense, those soldiers who die, and the people they kill, are simply victims of the petty squabbles between our governments and ourselves.
And so Remembrance Day, and the poppy, are really symbols of our democracy, and the willingness of men and women to put their lives on the line to defend it. But those democratic rights include yours and mine to choose whether or not to wear a poppy. If citizens feel compelled to wear one, then the lives of our fallen will truly have been in vain.
A few years ago I found myself discussing poppies and Remembrance Day with a friend. She was objecting to being forced to observe the rituals of a minute’s silence and the current rise of “poppy fascism” – the trashing of public figures who don’t wear poppies at this time of year. Her perfectly valid point was that honouring “The Glorious Dead” was hypocritical and dishonest, given that there's nothing glorious about war at all and that so many of the wars Britain (let’s face it, most countries) has fought have been morally wrong. We both agreed that not everyone observing the minute’s silence would actually be thinking about war dead, and people should be allowed to wear whatever they like.
I also had to accept her points about war. The Great War may have been historically inevitable but it was also futile and generally in pursuit of imperial gain. The Iraq war was always, always wrong. Even where the wars might have been morally right, as in Afghanistans, our armed forces have arguably achieved little. As a country, we don’t seem to pick our fights very well.
But that’s rather missing the point of Remembrance Day. In remembering those who died, we shouldn’t be grading the worth of each fallen individual according to the moral value of the conflicts they took part in. The armed forces – particularly in the United Kingdom which has no conscription and we rely on professional soldiers – do our dirty work for us. They act on behalf of an elected government, a government which we as a society elect to do take war and peace decisions on our behalf. Walking away from our responsibilities to our armed forces leads us down a dangerous path. The last thing we want are politicised armed forces; experience across the world suggests that doesn't usually lead to good outcomes.
Taking the Iraq eaxample, our armed forces loyally did as they were asked, as we would expect them to do in all situations except when they’re asked to flout the Geneva Convention and commit a war crime. That so many British people didn't approve of the Iraq war itself was a matter between us and our government. It’s not for the military to contradict a democratically arrived-at policy. In that sense, those soldiers who die, and the people they kill, are simply victims of the petty squabbles between our governments and ourselves.
And so Remembrance Day, and the poppy, are really symbols of our democracy, and the willingness of men and women to put their lives on the line to defend it. But those democratic rights include yours and mine to choose whether or not to wear a poppy. If citizens feel compelled to wear one, then the lives of our fallen will truly have been in vain.
