"Connecting People who Care"
1. What a strange world we live in these days, one hundred years after the Ist World War we still celebrate the most idiotic war ever [all wars are idiotic]...every-one who served has become by proxy a heroic figure...we still celebrate the stupidity of Gallipolli where thousands of troops were sacrificed without any real goal or objective.
Remember this was to be the war to end all wars...yet after only twenty two years the world was at it again...just long enough to grow a new bunch of young men to go and die for King and Country...we here in NZ were so keen to prove our Englishness that we even declared war on Germany before Britain did.
The song "The Band Played Waltzing Matilda" is by most accepted standards , the most successful of Eric Bogle's songs. It is a tribune to some very brave men. The ANZACS and an indictment of the stupidity that sent them there in the first place...Have a listen to the words carefully they are so meaningful: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VktJNNKm3B0
Millions of people died in the !st WW and we gained 22 years of peace...then just as they did at Gallipolli, in 1939 they started all over again and once again slaughted millions and millions in the name of King and Country or Germany, America and etc.
After it ended we had a five year break because in 1951 the Korean conflict kicked off, because war had become a habit, and our so-called leaders had lost their respect for humanity. I'm sorry but I simply don't trust those who see war as a problem solver. War is the bloody problem! Thats the problem that needs solving if we only had the guts.
Now on ANZAC day I wear my 'White' peace poppy, because its peace I desire and actions speak louder than words. That's why I think those people who opposed the Arms sales here in Palmerston North truly represent the future... On that march I spoke to a guy standing on the footpath giving the marchers the finger, he was all done up in his best NAZI style uniform with a massive swasticker on his chest...But he also wore a face mask...I asked him "Why the mask? His answer, mind your bloody business! So I kept on walking...
Even after all these wars Americans cant get their votes to count, especially if you are black. the rigged polls etc, states with 60 million get two votes for President, the same as states with 3 million...hence they end up with Trump.
It could be said "That you have to lose not win a war to preserve democracy' when one looks at Japan and Germany today and then looks at the poverty in the US you must wonder who won the 2nd WW.
Any country that depends on its Military / Industrial complex / Police to maintain its power over its citizens is a failure in human terms. When guns govern peoples behaviour you know that the political system is a failure. Good God you are not even safe in schools or churches in the US these days.
This from the Manawatu Standard:
"Gallipolli tends to cast a long shadow over our collective memory of WWI. There are certainly important battles that have been overlooked. For example, the 1916 Battle of the Somme was New Zealand's costliest battle of the war with more than 7500 casualties. During the centenary commemorations, this battle was barely mentioned. The Sinai Palestine campaign is all but forgotten too. Our bloodiest day of the war, October 12, 1917, was at Passchendaele, where 846 New Zealanders were killed in action, with a further 138 dying of wounds in the week that followed".
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/108445553/a-legacy-of-suffering-from-world-war-i
So to those who plan to go along to the Square to remember the ending of the 1st WW on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month...don't do it just to show your face, don't take part in making heroes out of conscripts. Do it in the name of peace. For my part I've grown tired of seeing war glorified and dressed up as heroic, troops stomping across the the world bringing so called peace when in fact what they bring is death and destruction.
Wars have never saved anyone and have destroyed all who taken part in them...this is not fiction, this is fact.
While there maybe short term gain there is always long term loss. There are no winners or losers for that matter.
The 1st WW brought the problems now faced in the Middle East, the forced creation of Israel with its racist policies being backed up by military and US support that is leading to ever greater conflict as they attempt to destroy the Palestinian people.
Remember those who died and hope they now reside in heaven rather than hell, of couse that depends on your religious views.
So to end this ode against war here is another persons view:
"Sunday is Armistice Day, commemorating the end of the First World War.
About 18,000 New Zealanders died in or because of that war.
They were among an estimated total of 40 million people, both military and civilian, who died due to the conflict
It was called the war to end all wars, but as history later showed this was not to be.
Padre James Young served on the Western Front.
He spoke in 1964 in a recording now held by Ngā Taonga Sound and Vision.
"So futile. We of 1914-18 fought a war to end war. Over and over again you would hear it from ordinary Diggers when they stopped and wondered what they were fighting for. And how utterly and completely we failed.
"Don't anyone talk to me of the glories of war. It makes me want to spit. It's so awfully, stupidly clumsy.
The horror of war has been outlined by many veterans over the years and many recorded for posterity.
"The Somme in 1916 was ghastly, hell, it was just mud, mud, mud," Mr Young said.
"And when it was wet, well it was just up to your waist. Men and mules and horses wounded and fallen and drowned in it quite easily, quite often."
About 100,000 young men left New Zealand heading to what many regarded as a great adventure and for the first-wave it was commonly believed the war would be over by Christmas 1914. Some thought they would not get there in time.
Culture and Heritage chief historian Neill Atkinson said in a country with a population of only one million at the time, the scale of the tragedy affected every family, workplace, school and club.
"The number of names on memorials tells the story and behind that of course were families, wives and parents and children and so on, so really it rippled out right through New Zealand society."
He said the toll from the First World War left gaps in society for many years.
"Where many of those people would have come back and taken up or carried on in their careers and many of them done interesting and good things in a whole lot of different fields.
"It certainly did have an effect and also those that did come back, many of them were changed, certainly carried those scars psychologically, as well and in some cases physical scars which really affected their lives and affected their families," he said.
When peace finally came many men were quite unprepared.
James Carrington wrote in his book "Soldier from the Wars Returning".
"The young soldiers had known no trade but war and had no civilian jobs to which they longed to return. I was a little scared of the new word, demobilisation."
Mr Atkinson said the First World War cast a huge shadow over the country in the 1920s, which was followed by the depression of the 1930s, and then the Second World War.
"That generation I think always carried that impact with them and of course often it was their families and sometimes their children who bore some of the impact of that too."
Peace activist Corey Anderson questions New Zealand's involvement in the First World War.
"What sort of society could we have had we not had to do that is an open question I think and there is the democratic toll along with the more extremes of patriotism."
The centenary of the Armistice will be commemorated on Sunday at 11am: The eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month, when the guns fell silent over the Western Front in 1918.
https://www.radionz.co.nz/news/national/375576/armistice-day-don-t-anyone-talk-to-me-of-the-glories-of-war
Lest we forget - conscientious objectors and those who opposed imperial war.
They were tied to poles on the battle field front line to be shot by the enemy, if that didn't work the British shot them on our behalf...
Remember this was to be the war to end all wars...yet after only twenty two years the world was at it again...just long enough to grow a new bunch of young men to go and die for King and Country...we here in NZ were so keen to prove our Englishness that we even declared war on Germany before Britain did.
The song "The Band Played Waltzing Matilda" is by most accepted standards , the most successful of Eric Bogle's songs. It is a tribune to some very brave men. The ANZACS and an indictment of the stupidity that sent them there in the first place...Have a listen to the words carefully they are so meaningful: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VktJNNKm3B0
Millions of people died in the !st WW and we gained 22 years of peace...then just as they did at Gallipolli, in 1939 they started all over again and once again slaughted millions and millions in the name of King and Country or Germany, America and etc.
After it ended we had a five year break because in 1951 the Korean conflict kicked off, because war had become a habit, and our so-called leaders had lost their respect for humanity. I'm sorry but I simply don't trust those who see war as a problem solver. War is the bloody problem! Thats the problem that needs solving if we only had the guts.
Now on ANZAC day I wear my 'White' peace poppy, because its peace I desire and actions speak louder than words. That's why I think those people who opposed the Arms sales here in Palmerston North truly represent the future... On that march I spoke to a guy standing on the footpath giving the marchers the finger, he was all done up in his best NAZI style uniform with a massive swasticker on his chest...But he also wore a face mask...I asked him "Why the mask? His answer, mind your bloody business! So I kept on walking...
It could be said "That you have to lose not win a war to preserve democracy' when one looks at Japan and Germany today and then looks at the poverty in the US you must wonder who won the 2nd WW.
Any country that depends on its Military / Industrial complex / Police to maintain its power over its citizens is a failure in human terms. When guns govern peoples behaviour you know that the political system is a failure. Good God you are not even safe in schools or churches in the US these days.
This from the Manawatu Standard:
"Gallipolli tends to cast a long shadow over our collective memory of WWI. There are certainly important battles that have been overlooked. For example, the 1916 Battle of the Somme was New Zealand's costliest battle of the war with more than 7500 casualties. During the centenary commemorations, this battle was barely mentioned. The Sinai Palestine campaign is all but forgotten too. Our bloodiest day of the war, October 12, 1917, was at Passchendaele, where 846 New Zealanders were killed in action, with a further 138 dying of wounds in the week that followed".
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/108445553/a-legacy-of-suffering-from-world-war-i
So to those who plan to go along to the Square to remember the ending of the 1st WW on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month...don't do it just to show your face, don't take part in making heroes out of conscripts. Do it in the name of peace. For my part I've grown tired of seeing war glorified and dressed up as heroic, troops stomping across the the world bringing so called peace when in fact what they bring is death and destruction.
Wars have never saved anyone and have destroyed all who taken part in them...this is not fiction, this is fact.
While there maybe short term gain there is always long term loss. There are no winners or losers for that matter.
The 1st WW brought the problems now faced in the Middle East, the forced creation of Israel with its racist policies being backed up by military and US support that is leading to ever greater conflict as they attempt to destroy the Palestinian people.
Remember those who died and hope they now reside in heaven rather than hell, of couse that depends on your religious views.
So to end this ode against war here is another persons view:
"Sunday is Armistice Day, commemorating the end of the First World War.
They were among an estimated total of 40 million people, both military and civilian, who died due to the conflict
It was called the war to end all wars, but as history later showed this was not to be.
Padre James Young served on the Western Front.
He spoke in 1964 in a recording now held by Ngā Taonga Sound and Vision.
"So futile. We of 1914-18 fought a war to end war. Over and over again you would hear it from ordinary Diggers when they stopped and wondered what they were fighting for. And how utterly and completely we failed.
"Don't anyone talk to me of the glories of war. It makes me want to spit. It's so awfully, stupidly clumsy.
The horror of war has been outlined by many veterans over the years and many recorded for posterity.
"The Somme in 1916 was ghastly, hell, it was just mud, mud, mud," Mr Young said.
"And when it was wet, well it was just up to your waist. Men and mules and horses wounded and fallen and drowned in it quite easily, quite often."
About 100,000 young men left New Zealand heading to what many regarded as a great adventure and for the first-wave it was commonly believed the war would be over by Christmas 1914. Some thought they would not get there in time.
Culture and Heritage chief historian Neill Atkinson said in a country with a population of only one million at the time, the scale of the tragedy affected every family, workplace, school and club.
"The number of names on memorials tells the story and behind that of course were families, wives and parents and children and so on, so really it rippled out right through New Zealand society."
He said the toll from the First World War left gaps in society for many years.
"Where many of those people would have come back and taken up or carried on in their careers and many of them done interesting and good things in a whole lot of different fields.
"It certainly did have an effect and also those that did come back, many of them were changed, certainly carried those scars psychologically, as well and in some cases physical scars which really affected their lives and affected their families," he said.
When peace finally came many men were quite unprepared.
James Carrington wrote in his book "Soldier from the Wars Returning".
"The young soldiers had known no trade but war and had no civilian jobs to which they longed to return. I was a little scared of the new word, demobilisation."
Mr Atkinson said the First World War cast a huge shadow over the country in the 1920s, which was followed by the depression of the 1930s, and then the Second World War.
"That generation I think always carried that impact with them and of course often it was their families and sometimes their children who bore some of the impact of that too."
Peace activist Corey Anderson questions New Zealand's involvement in the First World War.
"What sort of society could we have had we not had to do that is an open question I think and there is the democratic toll along with the more extremes of patriotism."
The centenary of the Armistice will be commemorated on Sunday at 11am: The eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month, when the guns fell silent over the Western Front in 1918.
Lest we forget - conscientious objectors and those who opposed imperial war.
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1 comment:
By email
Peter,
Right on, with your thoughts re WW1 today. One of my uncles was killed at Gallipoli. He was my mum's younger brother, so swept up with the concept of Patriotism he volunteered at about age 18. He saw service at the start in one of the Pacific islands before being shipped off to Gallipoli, He was only there twelve days, to when he was reported as 'Missing, Believed dead' My mum had his photo in a silver frame on her dressing table for the rest of her life. She blamed the warmonger, Churchill, for his demise. I gained the impression that had she been in the same room as Churchill, with a sharp knife, there would have been no more Churchill!
The entire invasion was Churchillian in concept with some cranky idea the war could be spread to the Middle East. The stumbling block in the way was Turkey. Our troops had to fight their way to the top of the hills rising from the beaches, exposed to the withering fire from the Turks high on those hills. I believe my uncle was killed in the battle for Chunuk Bair, which proved an absolute waste of time and mens' lives. It seems when they had achieved their objective, the alcohol fuelled pongonalians directing the war effort, from the safety of a battle ship in the bay below, decided enough was enough with their view 'Good Work boys. Now you can come back'. NZ and Australian casualties were horrendous, but were eclipsed entirely by those sustained by the Turkish forces. All for what possible reason?
Qrmond Burton was a part of that war and was decorated for his service. When WW2 reared its ugly head he decided enough was enough leading to him becoming a Conscientious Objector, for which he was vilified for the rest of his days by those with little or no concept of the horrors of war. I think one of the bigger acts of hypocrisy came about when Helen Clark made such a great song and dance about attending the ANZAC celebrations at Gallipoli. She of all people. Who spat in the faces of our troops, returned from one of the Indo China wars, marching in Lambton Quay upon their return home. What an example for a future PM? Had the occasion arisen, she would have had little or no compunction in sending our troops overseas to face uncertain fates.
My brother, now 95 was a signals operator in WW2 who saw service in Italy, That war has been over 73 years. To present day he has not divulged a single word about his experiences, such a profound effect it had on him. Only occasionally has he mentioned some of the moments he experienced, such as one of the guys, holed up for the night in a trench with a drip-fed oil burner, who woke up all in his vicinity, when he woke to an all consuming blaze in his trench! there were one or two other light-hearted moments but generally the war was a strictly taboo subject.
That is symptomatic of most of our returned men.
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