When you get drawn in by all the nonsense surrounding poppies every year: the faux outrage about celebrities not wearing them and 'how dare they disrespect the fallen!'; the sequined/ diamond encrusted ones or the giant plastic poppies tied to lampposts and car bonnets; the racist inflammatory social media posts that claim Muslims want to ban poppies; the public 'art' that turns the First World War into a meaningless, 'Lest We Forget', sentimentalised, poppy theme park. When all that 21st century bullshit swoops by every November it's worth reading Siegfried Sassoon's poem Suicide In The Trenches. Written by a man who knew what he was writing about. 'The smug- faced crowds... who cheer when soldier lads march by/ Sneak home and pray you'll never know/ The hell where youth and laughter go'.
5 comments:
Well said, Adam.
This poppy fanaticism is very depressing, well said Swiss.
Such a poignant poem and superb post SA.
Driving to work this morning the bus coming towards me had its digital destination sign on the front replaced by the words Lest We Forget. Lest we forget what? To get off at the right stop? To pick up our change? It just reduces it to nothing, a meaningless platitude
Your post and Drew's over at The Vinyl Villain have both been the most moving and on point commentaries I've read or heard all week. Well said.
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