It’s that time of year again too. I have been belatedly brave (it was something I meant to do the first year the shop was open) and bought some white poppies to sell here. This is an area with a heavy preponderance of military personnel and their families so I risk being misunderstood. It’s a very emotive subject, but the red poppy seems to be being used as a kind of rallying point for pro-military feeling and an excuse for showing the Armed Forces as a noble and ‘caring’ way of life.
The White Poppy mourns those who have died in conflict but symbolises the belief that there are better ways to resolve conflicts than killing strangers.
On the White Poppy site www.ppu.org.uk/whitepoppy/index.html they can be bought in small numbers (bags of 5 or 10) as well in slightly larger numbers for distribution.
I also found a letter there sent in by a Minister of a Nonconformist Church in Eastern England. The following is a small extract.
“As a nonconformist Christian minister, I am sickened by the recent proliferation of Remembrance celebrations with their evocation of nostalgia and nationalism, and their almost saintly portrayal of ordinary servicemen and women (while largely ignoring the many innocent civilians who died). It seems self-evident to me that Christians ought to be flying in the face of the prevailing culture by affirming peace, rather than war, in the name of Christ, and I am amazed that so many in the churches never seem to question the annual Remembrance cult. Personally I would love to organise an ‘alternative remembrance service’ which focuses on repentance, prayer and recognition of the terrors of today’s world, and leave off commemorating the past. But I’m not sure if I’ve got the courage for that!”
His move to sell the white poppies was ill-received in some quarters. It’s an interesting letter.
No comments:
Post a Comment