Ubalblog

[  Mood: Shocked ]
[  Currently: Listening to CBC Radio ]
Those of you that are my friends on Facebook know my views on Remembrance Day. It is sacred to me. I am the granddaughter of Dutch Resistance fighters. I grew up on stories of what it was like to live in Nazi occupied Netherlands. Steeped in my blood is the reality that war is hell, but it is sometimes necessary.

I also learned that I owe my life to the Canadians who liberated the Netherlands. Canada, a country with no ties to the Dutch, sent their sons and daughters to fight so the Dutch could be free. The Dutch have never forgotten this. And neither have I.

So this brings me to the white poppy. Apparently this is a campaign for peace. You wear the white poppy to symbolize your opposition to wars and your desire for peace.

Personally, I find the white poppy campaign offensive. The poppy has been a symbol of remembering the sacrifices of soldiers who died in war since WWI. It should stay that way.

I applaud the organizers’ desire for peace. But I do not approve of their methods. Pacifism would not have saved the Dutch from Hitler, nor did it do much for the Jews of Germany, Austria and Czechoslovakia.

These pacifists should use the symbol that has stood for peace for years. The dove. And they should use it at another time of the year. They have clearly chosen this time of year for their campaign, because they are protesting the symbolism of Remembrance Day. And they think they can get some easy press.

And both show me that they are not quite as much about peace and pacifism as they think they tell us. They are far more about advancing their cause at all costs, no matter who you piss on to get there.