The poppy - war propaganda and social fascism

Social media and regular media outlets are filled with people discussing the reasons behind wearing a poppy. Turn on any British news outlet and you will see folk with a little red flower upon their lapel. It is a tradition at this time of year but why? Why do British people wear them? Why is there an abundance of people wearing the flower in the British media? Why do people receive such widespread criticism for refusing to wear one?

You have to challenge your views sometimes and research objectively. A history lecturer once told me that it is impossible to research objectively, that the impetus for knowledge mining comes from a desire to reinforce your own prejudices. She also said that sitting on a fence is very difficult; there are too many nails on it and you never stay up there for long.

Historically the poppy was originally worn to represent those who died in the First World War.  American poet, John McCrae, wrote a poem entitled In Flanders Fields at an unspecified time during the war. Though he originally discarded the poem, believing it to be substandard, the poem would be printed in Britain’s Punch magazine.

Here are the opening lines of the poem:

In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

From then on, the poem was used to commemorate soldiers who died in battle. Such was the popularity of the poem, the Americans used it as a propaganda tool, recognising the emotion McCrae’s words elicited and capitalising on a resurgence in the war machine. From World War I through to World War II and beyond, the Americans and the British (among others) adopted the tradition of wearing a poppy to remember their men and women who died in service of their country. 

From here, we shall focus on Britain’s use of the poppy as it is Britain which is the subject of this blog.

During both world wars, on a very human level, men and women at home in the UK suffered tremendous losses of life throughout their circles of friends and family. The average Blighter sought to wear the poppy as a comfort, an outward representation that they had suffered immeasurable loss in wartime. It was also a badge of honour; their friend/family member died doing what was right; fighting the villainous, imperious Hun and keeping alive the principles of democracy and freedom.

 

World War I ended in 1918.

World War II ended in 1945.

These days, the poppy is worn to commemorate every soldier killed in the line of battle. Every soldier. What should be recognised is the fact that every conflict that Britain has been involved in since the Second World War has occurred for one reason only; monetary gain/power. There are those that believe British imperialism ended with the dawn of the modern age or indeed the turn of the twentieth century, depending on your historical perspective. 

However, there are many who believe that British imperialism continues to this day. Since 1945, Britain and her allies have been involved in numerous conflicts and not once was the instigator of the conflict an opponent. People rightly blame the USA for much of the world’s conflicts since 1945 – Vietnam, Iraq, Afghanistan etc – but rarely do the USA bombard a country without the support of their historical enemy yet modern ally – Britain. No more so than the Americans, the British have never had moral right or reason, other than monetary gain/power, to invade any of these countries and to murder their locals. 

Britain has been involved in many armed conflicts that we are aware of and many British soldiers have been killed in the line of duty. According to figures by the British Ministry of Defence, over 7,000 men and women were killed serving Britain since 1945. Make no mistake about it, that is a tremendous loss of life and a waste of human potential. However, to commemorate their deaths is to justify their part-taking in worldwide, imperialistic campaign of bigotry. To commemorate their deaths is to commemorate the war machine with machinations on the death, destruction, capitalist gain, the imposing of their political will, the writing of their own skewed history and worldwide pillaging that the British still bring to parts of the world today.

These “fallen heroes” have been taken for fools and been nothing more than gears in the British war machine, convinced to commit horrible acts for what they believe to be a worthy cause. This machine is allowed to motor on because young, talent and most importantly, expendable Brits are brainwashed into thinking that going to the Middle East is justified and that their deaths are mere collateral damage, unfortunate occurrences on the road to final and just victory. Sympathy must be limited; picking up a gun and invading a country where you are not wanted or needed, a country where there are plenty of people equally armed and determined to remove you from THEIR land, is tantamount to suicide; you are the insurgent.

There are arguments for wearing a poppy.

- Your ancestors fought for the British

You may hear that many of your ancestors donned a British military uniform and murdered for the queen. The fact is that this is true and it is true of my ancestors on both sides of the family. To that I simply say that yes, my own relatives murdered for the British but that was at a time when your choice in life was to starve and see your wife and children starve or go fight with the British. At times they were literally the only options available to an Irishman. Antiquarianism is rife in modern times.

- Soldiers perform important peacekeeping duties

It may be put to you that the military undertake the important task of peacekeeping in exotic yet dangerous locations. The fact is that the loss of lives while peace keeping deserves sympathy, empathy and commemoration but this service of peacekeeping is often required in states that were initially thrown into disarray by the nations deploying the peacekeepers. It is common that peacekeeping is the extensive cleaning up of spilled milk.

- The poppy represents all life lost

There is a truth to the adage that poppies represent all of life lost and by wearing a poppy, you are remembering everyone that dies, not just British soldiers. However, there remains an unavoidable question; why only wear one in early November if this is true? By wearing a poppy around Remembrance Day you are taking part in Remembrance Day, not celebrating a romantic and general loss of life in your own idealistic way.

- The money raised looks after the injured

This has to be the most valid reason to buy a poppy and to donate to the British Legion and other charities. Soldiers, poor men and women, are injured in battle and upon return, require expensive medical attention. Sometimes around the clock care is required. However, the cost of this should and easily could lie with the government. If you insist on supporting the British Legion for this reason, call them or go to their website (www.britishlegion.org.uk/) to donate money. The trouble is that people need the world to see the great things that they do anonymously.

The fact is that the cost should lie with the government and no amount of poppy-wearing, faux nationalism will change their minds. The cost of veteran care should be included in the war machine’s budget. According to the MoD, in 2014, the British government spent more than £43bn on 'defence'. In terms of defence expenditure as a percentage of GDP, it is second in the world, only behind the war industry of the USA. So much being spent to murder, so little done to care for their own.

Since the Thatcher government and crushing of the Argies in the Malvinas, the poppy has been used by the British establishment to support foreign military adventures and these days there is a social fascism attached to wearing one. It is sustained propaganda, there to instill a sense of pseudo-nationalism and build a community of support for future and sadly inevitable foreign invasions.

Everyone is entitled to their beliefs but everyone is also entitled to keep those beliefs to themselves. You are entitled to believe in god but you are not entitled to ram it down my throat. You are entitled to celebrate murder but to wear a poppy in its honour spits on the graves of over a million lives lost and generations of families ruined.

The dead are nothing more than poor men that died for the will of rich men. That is all that any war is. No more. No less.

There are reasons to wear a poppy, however, the reasons not to far outweigh them and are far greater in number.

By not wearing a poppy, I am supporting those who died at the hands of the British and her allies.

Here is a small example of who I support.

Kenya – 2,000+ estimated killed

Northern Ireland – 4,000+ estimated killed (many more pre-1945)

The Gulf War – 35,000+ estimated killed

The Bosnian War – 100,000+ estimated killed

The War on Terror – 1,300,000+ estimated killed

Post WWII occupation of Palestine – thousands and still climbing

I feel I have to make something clear for the narrow-minded reader; I am not in any way anti-British, I am an anti-war journalist.

I empathise with the abused not the abuser.

Never accept the world with which you are presented.