Armistice Day...

Often wrongly referred to as 'Remembrance Day', The 11th of November has been changed in recent years. When i was in primary school in the 90's we were taught the significance of why we wear the poppy and have a minutes silence during the eleventh minute, past the eleventh hour, on the eleventh day of the eleventh month every year. 

The armistice with Germany was signed at this time in 1918 bringing to an end one of, if not the bloodiest conflict in history that was, The Great War. (It was only after World War II that The Great War was referred to as World War I, or so i have been led to believe.) Armistice Day adopted World War II as a subsequent conflict to remember, however i believe that this is where it, officially at least, stopped.

The notion that Afghanistan, Iraq and the Falklands conflicts are now being included in Armistice Day by the british public and are endorsed by many celebrities is appalling. Now, don't get me wrong, the loss of life in any way is devastating, and to me, one of the worst ways to die would to be thousands of miles away from your family, friends and home. So i want to make it clear that I'm not saying that it's a good thing that people are dying in Iraq and Afghanistan as I write this, however these two current conflicts are different to the two wars that Armistice Day was created for.

For example, Iraq and Afghanistan are not wars. No war has been declared, however with The Great War and World War II war was declared by Great Britain on Germany and Nazi Germany respectively. These wars were fought out of necessity rather than interference with foreign nations that we have no business stepping into, let alone illegally. 

And who do we remember? I remember the people who were conscripted to protect their homes, family, and everything that they held dear. I do not remember people who's job it is to police foreign nations just as much as i do not remember people who get electrocuted to death by office equipment. It's their job and choice is a huge part of this argument. No one forced soldiers to go into Iraq and Afghanistan, whereas those who fought on the beaches of Normandy, in the streets of Paris, in the Ardennes forest of Belgium, and all over Europe had little to no choice in their fate.

In closing, next time you buy a poppy or pause in silence on any Armistice Day, contemplate what it really means as opposed to thinking what everyone around you thinks.

I support Armistice Day for those who fought against oppression. I do not support those who opress others.