Mr Rational Posted January 5, 2014 Share Posted January 5, 2014 What's your views on this? Should they be going ahead, should we be 'celebrating' it, why is it happening for the start and not the end etc... The new £2 coin with Kitchener is coming out 'your country needs you' stamped across it. Should we have 'Dulce et Decorum est' on the side of it? Why are we the only country to be celebrating the start of it as well? Is Nov 11th not good enough? I've checked with mates down under in both countries and in Canada, we seem to be the only country to be marking the start if the slaughter... Views please. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Brightside Posted January 5, 2014 Share Posted January 5, 2014 We shouldn't be "celebrating" anything to do with war. We should be quietly contemplating the horrible things some people had to do and see for the greater good and taking a moment to think about those who gave their lives fighting in the war. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the_bully_wee Posted January 5, 2014 Share Posted January 5, 2014 As someone on my Twitter said, what's there to celebrate about a horrific conflict in which two groups of men were forced to kill one another or, alternatively, face being killed themselves should they defy orders/desert. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Broccoli Dog Posted January 5, 2014 Share Posted January 5, 2014 Now that the last veteran is dead we can celebrate away. Oh what a lovely war, more blood for the blood god! etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tryfield Posted January 5, 2014 Share Posted January 5, 2014 I think it's more to commemorate than celebrate. Horrid history shouldn't be blanked, stark reminders may help prevent a re-occurence. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Broccoli Dog Posted January 5, 2014 Share Posted January 5, 2014 Worth noting that the Tory party are really going to push The Great War big style in 2014. Get the people fired up and patriotic, and stop those Jockos talking of home rule. Michael Gove is already up in arms trying to quash all of those buckled lefty myths about the war, it was magic, nothing at all like Blackadder. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/10548303/Michael-Gove-criticises-Blackadder-myths-about-First-World-War.html Anyway, here's Harry Patch explaining why he personally thought WW1 was a load of shite. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bullywee Posted January 5, 2014 Share Posted January 5, 2014 2 World Wars 1 World Cup Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Rational Posted January 5, 2014 Author Share Posted January 5, 2014 I think it's more to commemorate than celebrate. Horrid history shouldn't be blanked, stark reminders may help prevent a re-occurence. As rightly pointed out, Tory and Labour Party figures have tweeted about 'proud' about the fact we stood up for democracy etc. That is hardly sober reflection IMO and I would hardly be 'proud' no matter what the reason for the senseless slaughter the trenches. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Broccoli Dog Posted January 5, 2014 Share Posted January 5, 2014 Maybe the government could 'celebrate' the Great War by pardoning all of the British soldiers executed for 'cowardice'. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ICTChris Posted January 5, 2014 Share Posted January 5, 2014 Looking forward to the tasteful commemoration at Ibrox. A card display of Lord Kitchener followed by a rousing chorus of Penny Arcade before servicemen in period costume dive into the Copland Road stand. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bookies Love Me Posted January 5, 2014 Share Posted January 5, 2014 If anybody is thinking of "celebrating" the start of the Great War, they should first read: The Guns of August by Barbara Tuchman or more the recently published Catastrophe 1914: Europe Goes to War by Max Hastings The only "good" thing to come out of the Great War was the downfall of the militarist royal households around Europe, who ultimately started the land grab/war. The resulting outcome of the war was economic meltdown and the rise of Nationalistic Fascism, which in turn lead to further conflict and land grab/war. As for "standing up for Democracy" that is the biggest load of bollocks that can be spouted about the reason for going to fight in the Great War. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Confidemus Posted January 5, 2014 Share Posted January 5, 2014 I think it's more to commemorate than celebrate. Horrid history shouldn't be blanked, stark reminders may help prevent a re-occurence. This. Very much this. It should be remembered. We should all remember the dreadful waste of life and the sacrifices so many made. This doesn't mean a celebration, but their commitment and what happened should absolutely be commemorated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NotThePars Posted January 5, 2014 Share Posted January 5, 2014 But the issue is that there's an obvious element of celebration that's emerging over the commemorations of the war. There's large swathes of the Tories and some other figures who believe that we fought a just war and that this has to be figured in the events over 2014 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bobby Skidmarks Posted January 5, 2014 Share Posted January 5, 2014 I went to Passchendaele in September, it's an eerie place and well worth a tour around. The tour guide we paid for was really knowledgeable and took us to a farm where they were still digging up stuff when ploughing the fields, old artillery shells, bullets and leather saddles. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Suspect Device Posted January 5, 2014 Share Posted January 5, 2014 We should never forget, certainly but I am pretty sure if we had not been voting on independence then we would be commemerating the end of the war rather than the start. Also not sure if the war was about defending democracy either. Far more complex than that simplification. We should remember all wars and the lies that sent us to them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saint dave Posted January 5, 2014 Share Posted January 5, 2014 Worth noting that the Tory party are really going to push The Great War big style in 2014. Get the people fired up and patriotic, and stop those Jockos talking of home rule.Is the real reason we are celebrating the start of a war and not the end of one...timing. Don't know if its a mockup , but , the new £2 coin with Kitchener's your country needs you motto on it is at the very least a piece of tasteless shit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scary Bear Posted January 5, 2014 Share Posted January 5, 2014 If they (who are 'they'?) are commemorating (or celebrating, depending on your viewpoint) the start of The Great War, does this mean we'll have four more years of commemoration of major battles/events throughout this war? Either way, commemorating the start of a war doesn't seem right. It should probably be the end of the war that is commemorated. That said, we celebrate/commemorate things like Dunkirk, D-Day Landings, Battle of Britian, El Alamein, Etc. What can you do? It's not something that will ruin my year. It'll be interesting getting a summary of why the war started through the various documentaries that are bound to be on telly. Hopefully Michael Gove approves of the programmes. I feel that he and Reynard would get on like a house on fire. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Confidemus Posted January 5, 2014 Share Posted January 5, 2014 But the issue is that there's an obvious element of celebration that's emerging over the commemorations of the war. There's large swathes of the Tories and some other figures who believe that we fought a just war and that this has to be figured in the events over 2014 What you have to remember is that the Tories are abject c***s. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scary Bear Posted January 5, 2014 Share Posted January 5, 2014 I've never really taken much of an interest in the history of WWI. WW2 just seemed so much more interesting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reynard Posted January 5, 2014 Share Posted January 5, 2014 I'm all for commemorating this. It was another debacle of nationalism which is absolutely always a bad thing that sends men to their graves early. A very mangey Eurobeast. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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