When poppies were originally introduced prior to the Second World War, it was a time of increasing anxiety with remembrance being re-militarised. Remembrance had previously been something associated with grieving widows, but was being taken over by men and the military.http://www.thenews.coop/features/Wider%20Co-op%20Movement/1676
I have a card from the Peace Pledge Union which came with the first white poppy I ever bought. It sits on my notice board. Here's part of what it says:
White poppies for peace were first made by the Women’s Co-operative Guild in 1933. Members of the Guild – many of whom were mothers and widows of men killed in WW1- feared that the ‘war to end all wars’, in which their men had died, would be followed by an even worse conflict. The white poppy was a reminder of the horrors of war. People who wore it did so as a way of insisting that those in power should resist war; that conflicts should be resolved without violence and with justice.In the years since that was written, the 100 million people killed because of military conflicts, will have gone up considerably.
300 wars later, and after the slaughter of over 100 million people, the white poppy continues to be a reminder of the world’s failure to prevent war. It is a symbol of grief for everyone who has been harmed by war, but more importantly it is a symbol of our determination to work together to abolish war for good.
http://www.ppu.org.uk/
Today and on 11th Nov I will think of those who lost their lives during the 20th century genocides large and small, as well as those who have been killed so far in this century. But I will also think of how unnecessary armed conflict is. If humans are intelligent enough to co-operate to the extent it takes to actually fight a war, then surely an equal effort can be made to resolve conflict.
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