This post by James Lucas sums up a truth I have understood about war since forever. It makes me so very sad that so few people seem able to see the big picture, and the way WAR has always been a game played by wealthy MEN with no regard for the rest of us. Everyone who is not like them is expendable. The photo of the man before and after WWII is particularly profound. My step-dad was a WWII vet--decorated multiple times. He didn't talk about it, but that war changed everyone.
A timely and thoughtful post, thank you for sharing this as you have.
Yesterday, as I stepped out of my car, I heard the tail end of a radio programme where the speaker said he was (paraphrasing here)
“sadly unmoved by the images of mothers with signs saying ‘stop killing the children’ but was stopped in his tracks by signs saying ‘stop killing OUR children”
I think what I’m trying to say is our collective abhorrence at the horrors foisted on us all seems increasingly obvious - universal - and globally and it seems without exception - especially so when it’s conducted by a tiny minority who do so at the collective expense of our pain, loss, sorrow… and all at our own expense.
It’s hard to say “ignoring politics” but whether you are (dispassionately) watching the wasted expense of Trump’s birthday parade, reading of the absolute poverty for the majority of those in North Korea (eating grass?), or the golden trains used by Putin (perhaps the world’s wealthiest man?) to avoid him being shot out of the sky, or the massive disparity between rich and poor in, say, the Gulf states, or India … or here in the UK the North South divide too (and, yes, I completely understand how London is : was financially important as a hub to us all)
Or moving on to how women’s rights are massively ignored / sidestepped (abortion, for instance, why the fuck is that even debated anymore? Sorry, but fuck off, especially so if you’re a man, fuck off)
Anyway… I’m on rant
Apologies
I’ve often wondered though if the internet could ever be a force for global good and help make positive changes for us all on this tiny barely a speck in the Universe.
Your post now gives me a little more hope for us all in OUR shared futures.
Best I say rant over for now and … ‘feeling narked, might delete later’
Both my grandfathers fought in the Second World War.
Sadly, it was something both never spoke about as this brave lot of chaps were schooled to the “say nothing, loose lips sink ships”.
We respected their decision as it was not ours to make.
And, frankly, children in the 1960’s were not allowed to ask questions for fear of being labelled cheeky.
Now at 63, I think of all they sacrificed so that we might live.
One grandad died very young with me aged 5 years old playing with him.
He was only 52 years of age.
I miss all 4 of my grandparents very much as they taught me: Carol, be kind first.
Speak your mind but still be kind.
Unbelievably valuable and treasured by me my whole long life.
We need to honour and respect and celebrate what these young men did, some even lying about their age, so determined were they to defend their families and their beloved nations all over our world.
Haven’t people learnt yet with wars?
If you want to destroy people, start wars.
Only rich people make money in war time.
The ordinary folk who are struggling are devastated as are their families.
Kindest regards
Carol Power
South Africa
Johannesburg
It was a traumatic experience and of course no one
…& I’ve just realised the image you’ve shown wasn’t Orwell, but someone else. It’s haunting. Whoever took that after shot captured something extraordinary & it’s something that’s seared into my own mind now. I’m aware of the Silent Night moment, thanks for referencing it here. E xx
Hi James, I’ve only had a brief opportunity to read your post, but the before & after of George Orwell is disturbing. I’ve studied post-contact Australian history, so I’m totally on board with appreciating its significance. In Australia, we are still being fed the myth of having no history, as a new land in the antipodes, filled with stories of wild colonial boys, explorers & pioneers.
It’s a crock of course, but deeply entrenched because there’s too much at stake if we as a nation start owning up to what was done to the first nations peoples, in the name of Terra Nullius. E xx
too often we hear how war is just human nature. and yet, many years ago i came across the quote “being human explains everything and excuses nothing”. yes we may be prone to primal instincts to defend and protect but that will never warrant the use of violence against one another. we also have primal instincts to seek solace and safety by surrounding ourselves with others. if we need any further proof of our inherent inclination to simply do good, look at the scientific studies of altruism in infants. from the very beginning, it is life-giving to sustain one another.
Slavery was abolished in the UK by Parliament, in America by a civil war. So we know some ends can be achieved without war.
Hitler could not, would not, have been stopped without war.
So, it is pointless to decry war as if it were always optional.
I am a war baby and my life and the lives of my seven brothers and sisters was very badly spoiled by the damage done to my father fighting to repel the invading Japanese from the shores of Australia.
However, it was necessary and the result was wonderful for all Australians, born or migrant, compared with how it might have been.
Thank you. 🙏
This post by James Lucas sums up a truth I have understood about war since forever. It makes me so very sad that so few people seem able to see the big picture, and the way WAR has always been a game played by wealthy MEN with no regard for the rest of us. Everyone who is not like them is expendable. The photo of the man before and after WWII is particularly profound. My step-dad was a WWII vet--decorated multiple times. He didn't talk about it, but that war changed everyone.
A thoughtful article. A needed article. There are times when war is necessary, but rarely is.
A timely and thoughtful post, thank you for sharing this as you have.
Yesterday, as I stepped out of my car, I heard the tail end of a radio programme where the speaker said he was (paraphrasing here)
“sadly unmoved by the images of mothers with signs saying ‘stop killing the children’ but was stopped in his tracks by signs saying ‘stop killing OUR children”
I think what I’m trying to say is our collective abhorrence at the horrors foisted on us all seems increasingly obvious - universal - and globally and it seems without exception - especially so when it’s conducted by a tiny minority who do so at the collective expense of our pain, loss, sorrow… and all at our own expense.
It’s hard to say “ignoring politics” but whether you are (dispassionately) watching the wasted expense of Trump’s birthday parade, reading of the absolute poverty for the majority of those in North Korea (eating grass?), or the golden trains used by Putin (perhaps the world’s wealthiest man?) to avoid him being shot out of the sky, or the massive disparity between rich and poor in, say, the Gulf states, or India … or here in the UK the North South divide too (and, yes, I completely understand how London is : was financially important as a hub to us all)
Or moving on to how women’s rights are massively ignored / sidestepped (abortion, for instance, why the fuck is that even debated anymore? Sorry, but fuck off, especially so if you’re a man, fuck off)
Anyway… I’m on rant
Apologies
I’ve often wondered though if the internet could ever be a force for global good and help make positive changes for us all on this tiny barely a speck in the Universe.
Your post now gives me a little more hope for us all in OUR shared futures.
Best I say rant over for now and … ‘feeling narked, might delete later’
Thanks again though x
Breathtaking.
Thank you for these pictures. I have restacked and hope everyone sees the true cost of war.
War should not exist. I wish our species would get it together.
Both my grandfathers fought in the Second World War.
Sadly, it was something both never spoke about as this brave lot of chaps were schooled to the “say nothing, loose lips sink ships”.
We respected their decision as it was not ours to make.
And, frankly, children in the 1960’s were not allowed to ask questions for fear of being labelled cheeky.
Now at 63, I think of all they sacrificed so that we might live.
One grandad died very young with me aged 5 years old playing with him.
He was only 52 years of age.
I miss all 4 of my grandparents very much as they taught me: Carol, be kind first.
Speak your mind but still be kind.
Unbelievably valuable and treasured by me my whole long life.
We need to honour and respect and celebrate what these young men did, some even lying about their age, so determined were they to defend their families and their beloved nations all over our world.
Haven’t people learnt yet with wars?
If you want to destroy people, start wars.
Only rich people make money in war time.
The ordinary folk who are struggling are devastated as are their families.
Kindest regards
Carol Power
South Africa
Johannesburg
It was a traumatic experience and of course no one
…& I’ve just realised the image you’ve shown wasn’t Orwell, but someone else. It’s haunting. Whoever took that after shot captured something extraordinary & it’s something that’s seared into my own mind now. I’m aware of the Silent Night moment, thanks for referencing it here. E xx
Hi James, I’ve only had a brief opportunity to read your post, but the before & after of George Orwell is disturbing. I’ve studied post-contact Australian history, so I’m totally on board with appreciating its significance. In Australia, we are still being fed the myth of having no history, as a new land in the antipodes, filled with stories of wild colonial boys, explorers & pioneers.
It’s a crock of course, but deeply entrenched because there’s too much at stake if we as a nation start owning up to what was done to the first nations peoples, in the name of Terra Nullius. E xx
too often we hear how war is just human nature. and yet, many years ago i came across the quote “being human explains everything and excuses nothing”. yes we may be prone to primal instincts to defend and protect but that will never warrant the use of violence against one another. we also have primal instincts to seek solace and safety by surrounding ourselves with others. if we need any further proof of our inherent inclination to simply do good, look at the scientific studies of altruism in infants. from the very beginning, it is life-giving to sustain one another.
Moving images of the reality of war. Unfortunately, war is inevitable for those who lack the capacity to negotiate.
There will always be those who crave battle. We see it daily in sport, business & politics.
A personal defect of intrinsic human nature?
Either way, it’s glorified by many. Those in sport, business, politics & crime have always been the most handsomely rewarded.
Just reading this article then times a day would be enough to make sure we never fight another useless war…
Slavery was abolished in the UK by Parliament, in America by a civil war. So we know some ends can be achieved without war.
Hitler could not, would not, have been stopped without war.
So, it is pointless to decry war as if it were always optional.
I am a war baby and my life and the lives of my seven brothers and sisters was very badly spoiled by the damage done to my father fighting to repel the invading Japanese from the shores of Australia.
However, it was necessary and the result was wonderful for all Australians, born or migrant, compared with how it might have been.