Thursday, August 6, 2009

Harry Patch and the Futility of War

I have not written in a while because of personal reasons but I thought I would write a quick note to honour Harry Patch, the last combat veteran of the First World War. Now those who know me know that I am not in the habit of paying tribute to soldiers and have always been vehemently anti-war. But Harry Patch was one of those rare men who had served in war but was willing to speak out against war and was even willing to suggest that soldiers are little more than pawns in the political games of the state. This is particularly important because few people are willing these days to speak out against WWI, a ridiculous war of Western Imperialism. With this in mind he made sure that there were no weapons (even ceremonial weapons) at his funeral and the anti-war song Where Have All the Flowers Gone was sung at his funeral. It really must have angered men like Tony Blair and Stephen Harper who, despite their transparent rhetoric, love war and are turned on by the idea of Western Nations imposing their will on others. 

We truly are a wretched race who let devils in suits systematically destroy the hopes of human dignity. But Harry Patch spoke out with historically significant credibility. Thanks  Harry . . . Rest in Peace. 

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