Remembrance Day
Originally published at The Thoughts of Chairman P. You can comment here or there.
I observed the two minute silence. It seems such a little thing to do, to take two minutes out of the day to think how much suffering was endured to secure the freedom of this country in two world wars. I think the Falklands War was necessary and also perhaps the first invasion of Iraq. However, I don’t agree or support the current occupation of Afghanistan.
Don’t get me wrong. I support our troops, but I do not support the idiots that put them there. We are told that we are fighting the Taliban. We are also told that almost all of the Taliban are actually in Pakistan. The two do not add up.
One thing that really irks me about Remembrance Day is kind of a theme throughout my life. I support because I choose to. Those who try to bully me in to something can have the effect of killing my support through their actions. Each year I make a small donation to the poppy appeal. I wear a poppy when I remember to put it on. If I am not wearing a poppy I do not expect to be accused of not being grateful to those that have died. The self-righteous arseholes with their holier than thou attitudes, throwing accusations out at those who don’t wear a poppy, or don’t copy and post some prescribed piece of text on a social networking site are seriously in danger of completely ruining the occasion. If nothing else, they devalue the occasion. Do they expect to shame people? Hardly a good way to get support. The saddest thing is that they will never understand the threat they cause to the very thing they claim to support.
If you want to increase other peoples support for something, show your support, then let them make their own choice. I support Remembrance Day and the Poppy Appeal because I choose to. Not because some idiot told me I have to.
Rant over.