tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4970554022397463322.post8215233258292108298..comments2024-03-26T03:11:42.678-04:00Comments on Behind Their Lines: The Next WarConnie R.http://www.blogger.com/profile/00887098543181126157noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4970554022397463322.post-10326187407898490352020-01-16T22:38:04.281-05:002020-01-16T22:38:04.281-05:00This helped me a lot in doing my project.And thanx...This helped me a lot in doing my project.And thanx for thisAnonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00190267321346878762noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4970554022397463322.post-56173377458784298592019-08-09T05:27:47.182-04:002019-08-09T05:27:47.182-04:00Why not wear both? One for Remembering those who ...Why not wear both? One for Remembering those who gave their lives, and one to stop others giving theirs?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4970554022397463322.post-43518842023319939432018-09-02T20:20:26.782-04:002018-09-02T20:20:26.782-04:00Thanks for reading, Michael, and for writing such ...Thanks for reading, Michael, and for writing such beautiful, insightful poetry. Connie R.https://www.blogger.com/profile/00887098543181126157noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4970554022397463322.post-50519183604174905492018-09-02T17:57:29.161-04:002018-09-02T17:57:29.161-04:00Really enjoyed this post and the discussion, thank...Really enjoyed this post and the discussion, thank you!Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02239085219916909982noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4970554022397463322.post-71654709268684534672017-10-01T13:06:34.135-04:002017-10-01T13:06:34.135-04:00Thanks, Chris, for this information and for all yo...Thanks, Chris, for this information and for all your support!Connie R.https://www.blogger.com/profile/00887098543181126157noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4970554022397463322.post-68123789766672812962017-09-30T09:06:43.747-04:002017-09-30T09:06:43.747-04:00The best start, I think, is offered by the PPU web...The best start, I think, is offered by the PPU web site: http://www.ppu.org.uk/<br />You can access it in several ways according to the points that interest you.<br />From what I know, there were also these conscientious objectors (Methodists, Quakers,...) who did not shirk what they felt to be their duty to King and Country. They were given such 'jobs' as stretcher-bearers, medical staff members and the like. <br />If my information is correct, the PPU proper started off their activities in 1933. <br />To get back to Wilfred O., I have a feeling he was out to satirize the glib pro-war effort propaganda machine and to speak his mind in pretty much the same way as he did in his Dulce et Decorum. "All that a poet can do today is warn", he wrote in the Preface intended to precede the publication of a first poetry volume. However, he fell a victim to that war of wars barely one week before the Armistice. This gave his words additional prophetic value. <br /><br />By the way, it was his fellow soldier-poet Edmund Blunden who was instrumental in publicizing W.O.'s verse for the first time (much as he did in favour of that other poet-soldier Ivor Gurney).<br /><br />Thank you, Connie, for our fruitful exchanges of impressions and observations. It is heart-warming to find that these war poets can remain as inspiring today as they did a century ago. Keep up the good work!c.spriethttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03362112445796023444noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4970554022397463322.post-80963368113135803482017-09-29T08:10:14.531-04:002017-09-29T08:10:14.531-04:00Thanks as always, Chris, for your thoughtful persp...Thanks as always, Chris, for your thoughtful perspective and for sharing the experience of what it is like to live near the Menin Gate and the battlefields of Flanders. When did the white poppy get its start as a symbol of peace and an alternative to the red poppy? Connie R.https://www.blogger.com/profile/00887098543181126157noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4970554022397463322.post-17914894747192701622017-09-29T01:14:39.553-04:002017-09-29T01:14:39.553-04:00Quite sincerely, I must say I don't like parti...Quite sincerely, I must say I don't like parties of soldiers parading under the Menin Gate (Ypres) a bit. I have a feeling that a subdued silence is more fitting there. As for the British schools, who have a visit to the Somme and the Ypres Salient as a fixture on the national curriculum, and an important share of the British public, I cannot escape feeling that there is often an undiputable nationalist(ic) undercurrent about their attitude when attending, say, the Last Post. British legislation stipulates that visits to the battlefields are a cornerstone in the education towards national identity and pride.<br />One might even claim that the red poppy (symbol of the Royal British Legion) expresses that same bottomline. <br />As far as I am concerned, remembrance ought to be an all-encompassing symbolical act. This means that a sense of forgiveness is vital when remembering. A few years ago, Chancellor Kohl (Germany) and President Mitterand (France) stood together hand in hand at the Memorial to the Fallen in Verdun (Fr.). <br />It all goes to show that there are ways of remembering, and better ways of doing so.<br /><br />Wilfred O. pointed out a way in which to avoid future wars. Throughout all of our history, Flanders has got to know just how detrimental to humanity is the old flag-waving. Warring 'on Death' can never be an alternative to a humble and sincere struggle for peace. <br />As Jacob Burckhardt once wrote: 'The essence of tyranny is the denial of complexity.' And this is applicable to the sickening tyranny of the minds which keeps preceding warfare in our days. <br /><br />I for myself usually wear the white poppy of the PPU, the Peace Pledge Union. It is what you do when you are living on a former battlefield where they are uncovering war stuff and the remains of soldiers all of the time.<br /><br />Best regards from Flanders Fields,<br /><br />Chris c.spriethttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03362112445796023444noreply@blogger.com