Thursday, November 09, 2006
Let's Have a Heated Debate!
Do you wear a red poppy? Answers below, please. I'm just curious.
I wrote something about this last year so I might as well link to that rather than chug through it all again. Every year, however, I am forced to rethink my position a little bit - to re-justify it to myself. I'm not wearing one this year, by the way. I thought about getting a white one, but they seem a little bit naff to me (is that a bad thing to say?) I associate them (white poppies) with absolute pacifism, and while I have nothing in particular against pacifism, I ain't one myself.
Additional
Richard Gott on poppies and remembrance:
"Poppy-wearing... has become required dress for establishment figures - as though the poppy was itself a military medal. "
"The Cenotaph was originally designed... as a temporary wooden structure. The military opposed its permanent site in the middle of the highway, since it obstructed their parades."
I wrote something about this last year so I might as well link to that rather than chug through it all again. Every year, however, I am forced to rethink my position a little bit - to re-justify it to myself. I'm not wearing one this year, by the way. I thought about getting a white one, but they seem a little bit naff to me (is that a bad thing to say?) I associate them (white poppies) with absolute pacifism, and while I have nothing in particular against pacifism, I ain't one myself.
Additional
Richard Gott on poppies and remembrance:
"Poppy-wearing... has become required dress for establishment figures - as though the poppy was itself a military medal. "
"The Cenotaph was originally designed... as a temporary wooden structure. The military opposed its permanent site in the middle of the highway, since it obstructed their parades."
