I was in the middle of Europe last Monday, wearing my poppy in the week running up to Remembrance Sunday. I wear it with pride. An Austrian woman commented on how nice it looked and asked why I wore it. Today there were probably millions of people wearing poppies, because today is Remembrance Sunday.
When you buy a poppy you are actually donating the money to the Royal British Legion, a charity that looks after the financial social and emotional needs of those who are serving or who have served in the Armed Forces, and their families.
When I first reflected upon this I was glad that the Legion exists but the more that I thought the more I realised that it was a shame that the Legion had to exist. As a country we should look after the financial, social and emotional needs of those who are risking their lives or who have risked their lives for us.
It does not matter if you agree with the specific cause that is being fought at any given time; our fighting people do not fight for their own pleasure or at their own behest, but because they have been ordered so to do by the government of the day. We vote for our governments.That these soldiers, sailros and airmen having risked their lives, or become injured or maimed, have to depend on any charity to look after their needs must be a source of shame to us as a nation, and as worthy as the Legion is, it would be far better if our armed forces had their needs met as of right, and not out of charity.
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tagged: Armed Forces, British Legion, Charity, Remembrance Sunday
Let’s pray it won’t be a a poisoned chalice.
What would the world have been like today if the Allies had not overcome the Nazi threat? In life we can never look down the road not travelled with any meaningful certainty. What will life be like in 40 or 50 years and would our efforts to address global warming and the apparent threats that may befall us in years to come have made a difference? My grandfather was closer to WW2 than I and felt strongly that we should never forget. As I sit and watch my children play and grow up I wonder what their inheritence will be. Cliched perhaps, but if not for them then for whom will the environmentalists toil?