from Hacker News

This year, I will wear a poppy for the last time

by Tzunamitom on 11/10/13, 4:36 AM with 26 comments

by peteretep on 11/10/13, 8:43 AM
```
  I will no longer allow my obligation as a veteran to
  remember those who died in the great wars to be co-opted
  by current or former politicians to justify our folly in
  Iraq, our morally dubious war on terror and our
  elimination of one's right to privacy.
```
The idea that poppies, Remembrance Day, and general military pageant used to be some kind of non-propaganda event that's recently been co-opted is fantasy. Military nations have been instilling their young men with the glory of war since forever. Circa 23BC we have Horace saying "It's sweet and right to die for your country"[1], then parodied by Wilfred Owen[2] from his experiences in the "Great" war.
This feels a great deal like "we used to fight just wars, and recent wars aren't just", which is so misguided[3], I don't even know where to begin. The whole thing feels like "my war was better than your war".
[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dulce_et_decorum_est_pro_patria... [2] http://www.warpoetry.co.uk/owen1.html [3] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Empire
by jevinskie on 11/10/13, 6:01 AM
Wow, 90 years old and sharp as a tack! It is remarkable what past lessons we can learn from our elders. Hopefully the younger generations can avoid making the same mistakes.
by JamesZaya on 11/10/13, 6:20 AM
Truer words have never been spoken. I wish those who send the "Tommies" of today, realize what war is like. They do not call it the Ultimate sacrifice for nothing. Let us make sure that sacrifice was not for trivial and hollow matters.
But whilst we remember, let us not forget our returning veterans need help, both financial, medical and with integrating back into the norms of civilian life after two brutal conflicts.
I believe Wilfred Owen summed it up best, with his poem Dulce et Decorum http://www.warpoetry.co.uk/owen1.html
by Tycho on 11/10/13, 10:55 AM
The topic that's sort of ignored is how incredibly wrong it was to impose conscription on the British public. A lot of people still see no problem with making people 'serve their country,' even with the horrific example of WW1.
by _Simon on 11/10/13, 8:47 AM
I personally find this deeply offensive. This polemic is featured in the Guardian practically every year and its just more of the same sanctimonious bullshit we're becoming accustomed to from them. There is a lot of good feeling toward the guardian here because of their involvement with the Snowden affair, but I'd warn you all to treat them with the cynicism that you treat any other news agency with. This individual, who by all means is entitled to his view, is no better than the politicians he is complaining about by further politicising d deliberately misrepresenting what the appeal represents. That he served in the WWII is merely an example of an appeal to authority fallacy. The Poppy Appeal is a charitable fund that is operated by the Royal British Legion (see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Royal_British_Legion) and exists to help veterans and the dependants of service men and women that are injured or killed in action. Wear a poppy is showing support for those affected, not existing troops nor the wars that they fight in. It isn't showing any kind of agreement with any kind of foreign policy. Conflating the two is disingenuous to say the least and does nothing other than harming families that care for or have lost members to military action.
EDIT: Not wearing a poppy is an individuals right in the UK. It's a right that I absolutely stand by. I have no issue with anyone choosing not to partake in the act of remembrance. I take issue with it being misrepresented by both sides of the political spectrum. The irony of course is that the people who they are choosing not to remember gave their life for that right.

by CamperBob2 on 11/10/13, 7:58 AM

   Come 2014 when the government marks the beginning of the 
   first world war with quotes from Rupert Brooke, Rudyard 
   Kipling and other great jingoists from our past empire, I 
   will declare myself a conscientious objector.

What's "jingoistic" about Rudyard Kipling? How is this guy's perspective any different from the sentiments expressed in 'Tommy' (http://www.poetryloverspage.com/poets/kipling/tommy.html)?

by chimeracoder on 11/10/13, 5:52 AM
For those who don't know the context of the reference to the poppy, it's from the poem "In Flanders Fields"
>In Flanders fields the poppies blow
> Between the crosses, row on row,
> That mark our place; and in the sky
> The larks, still bravely singing, fly
> Scarce heard amid the guns below.
> We are the Dead. Short days ago
> We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
> Loved and were loved, and now we lie
> In Flanders fields.
> Take up our quarrel with the foe:
> To you from failing hands we throw
> The torch; be yours to hold it high.
> If ye break faith with us who die
> We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
> In Flanders fields.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/In_Flanders_Fields
by Joeboy on 11/10/13, 11:28 AM
In the past, the real deal-breaker for me has been the involvement of massive arms manufacturer British Aerospace. Not sure if that's still going on.
by sbuk on 11/10/13, 1:08 PM
The motto of the Royal British Legion is Service not Self. Perhaps Mr Smith would be well served in remembering this.