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Exiled in a kilt

Remembrance & Poppy Politics

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by
kilted exile
, 11-11-2007 at 11:02 PM (1303 Views)
I was at the war memorial earlier today, I go every 11th November (some backstory in an entry from last year at this time). There was a pretty large turnout and it didnt rain like last year.

Afterwards we went to visit my grandfather's grave to put down some flowers & tidy up the leaves etc. (grandad was a POW in WW2 & died on this date 4 yrs ago) Unfortunately the florist was closed so had to make do with a bunch of flowers from a convenience store, they were ok but not great. Someone had also written over the bench we paid to get put in near his grave which added to the mother's tears. It is always an emotional time for her because the grandad is in a joint plot with my mother's mother and thought I dont know the full details, I know enough to suspect that it was an abusive household for her to grow up in.

Anyway to "Poppy Politics". I wear a poppy I always have done, this is the first year though that I seriously considered not wearing it. I wear it for the pointless deaths on all sides, in the current political climate however it is a very nationalistic thing to do. I do not want to hear about the greatness of a country at times like this. For me it is more about the senseless nature of war, particularly in the case of WW1 - which despite my best efforts to find a logical reason for I can not.
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  1. mtpspur's Avatar
    Was reading Talbot Mundy today and the setting was Jerusalem but right in the middle of a paragraph was a favorable reference to the Scots armies. And I fleetingly thought of you. Sorry about the bench--people have no respect for public property and no thought for the consequences. Hope for happier times for your mother. Had never heard of the Poppy thing. WW! definitely ot of hand in a hurry to say the very least. I have an ex-Marine co-worker who celebrates US Veterans Day fervently and can't seem to understand my lack of enthusiam for it. I regret aspects of my military service and in this day and age can say I served my country fairly well but it's a shame there is cause for our existance--whatever the reason. Best to you.
  2. Countess's Avatar
    KE: I'm sorry today is such a tragic time for your family. It amazes me the antisocial acts people will commit in the most sacrosanct of places - but that is the very def of antisocial: a blatant disregard for other people's rights.>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> >>>>>>>>
    ON WAR: I do believe war is a necesary evil, but it is still an evil. "For evil men to reign, good men need do nothing". - Ben Franklin. I have very ambiguous feelings about war: why are evil people so determined to create chaos around them? (From school shooters to Osama). How much war is "enough"?
    So long as depravity exists in the heart of man, there will be war. I do believe if I lived with several versions of myself, we could be quite content in leaving each other alone save when necessary, in helping each other as required, etc, so I believe hypothetically it is possible (and there must be others like this, right?) So when are you going to start the commune?
  3. B-Mental's Avatar
    Kilted Exile/Shrek, It is always a pleasure to read what you have to say. I wish you were on more frequently, but that is life my friend. Thank you for this entry, and I must say that I wished evryone embraced Veteran's Day the way that you and your kinfolk do. Its the heather that unites our pasts, and compassion our futures. peace amigo B
  4. kiz_paws's Avatar
    I think that B said it nicely. Peace to you, Kilted. Kizzo
  5. Niamh's Avatar
    good for you Kilted. Not many young people wear the poppy these days. I'm sorry to hear that it was a bit of an upsetting day though, even though it is a lovely gesture for the memory of you grandfather.