The death of sacrifice
An atheist by conviction and a pacifist by default, I nonetheless envy the old beliefs in duty and sacrifice
They're hoping for a bumper poppy harvest this year. Not the farmers of Afghanistan and their dependents, but the women and men retired from Britain's armed services, whose need for the British Legion's support will grow as the recession bites and
government spending in this often forgotten area dwindles further. We will remember them, at least, for a couple of weeks each year.
This time of year is always strange for me. An atheist by conviction and a pacifist by default, I nonetheless always find myself going to our local church to attend the service of remembrance. The stalls and galleries that usually stand empty creak with the congregation of local dignitaries, servicemen and women and their families, and others, like me, with little or no connection to the world of armed conflict but a simple wish to remember the sacrifice of those who have died for their God, country or notion of freedom.
Ninety years after Armistice, only the last of these well-worn causes still sees active service, and after eight years on the front lines of George Bush's various wars, even that is looking rather threadbare....
They're hoping for a bumper poppy harvest this year. Not the farmers of Afghanistan and their dependents, but the women and men retired from Britain's armed services, whose need for the British Legion's support will grow as the recession bites and
government spending in this often forgotten area dwindles further. We will remember them, at least, for a couple of weeks each year.
This time of year is always strange for me. An atheist by conviction and a pacifist by default, I nonetheless always find myself going to our local church to attend the service of remembrance. The stalls and galleries that usually stand empty creak with the congregation of local dignitaries, servicemen and women and their families, and others, like me, with little or no connection to the world of armed conflict but a simple wish to remember the sacrifice of those who have died for their God, country or notion of freedom.
Ninety years after Armistice, only the last of these well-worn causes still sees active service, and after eight years on the front lines of George Bush's various wars, even that is looking rather threadbare....
