This year marks the 100th anniversary of the First World War, which began in 1914 and raged for four long years across the muddy trenches of Belgium, northern France, and elsewhere. In the west, there has been a steady stream of films, documentaries, and books exploring every aspect of this tragic war for many years now – we’re all acquainted with the names of the places where such terrible events took place, like Ypres, Passchendaele, and Gallipoli. Generally, the war is now seen as an avoidable mess that was caused by arguing among European aristocracies and politicians over land and power.
The UK Education Secretary recently took aim at this view, however. Michael Gove claimed that such ‘left-wing’ interpretations of the war were unpatriotic for suggesting that it was “a series of catastrophic mistakes perpetrated by an out-of-touch elite”. This list of unpatriotic views included the much-loved films and television shows Oh What A Lovely War and Blackadder Goes Forth, and presumably included the famous saying in Britain that the soldiers of the First World War were “lions led by donkeys” – that is, brave men who were let down by their foolish leaders.
Instead, Gove thinks the war should be remembered as a good, honest fight against German expansionism – a completely just and necessary war in which millions were sent to their deaths, but for a good reason. The fact that the war did nothing to stop German expansionism, merely delaying it and ensuring it rebooted with even more ferocity a generation later because of the stupidity of the politicians who punished the Germans so heavily at the Treaty of Versailles, seems to have slipped his mind.
Regardless of this, Gove’s vision ignores something even more important to us today. The First World War was a shambles, and an example of patriotic common people being led to their deaths for the ridiculous causes of their leaders. But that describes almost all wars before or since. The poor always die in the greatest numbers, and the rich always come out on top – even if one group of rich elites have to lose, they simply get replaced by another, almost identical group. The actual structure of power very rarely changes after a war, only the names at the top get rotated.
Look at the futility of so many of the wars fought in the past century. The Vietnam War saw thousands of Americans, and countless numbers of Vietnamese, die, all because American politicians believed that having some Communists in charge of a country on the other side of the world would be an existential threat. The Iraq war has been similarly wasteful, and all so that Republican neoconservatives could gain control of some additional oil reserves in the Middle East. The various attacks on Afghanistan by the US, Soviet Russia, and even the British in the 19th century? All just part of the ‘great game’ of geopolitics, to make statesmen and politicians feel like they’re important. And in all cases, the poor lose their lives, and the rich become more prosperous.
So during this year of commemoration, remember the people who died in the trenches, but don’t let politicians like Michael Gove make us forget about who sent them there in the first place. It was the elites of this world, who were looking to enrich themselves at the expense of the common man, that caused this war – and that will cause many more, unless we stand up to them.
100th anniversary, American politicians, ana shell media, ana shell media press, attacks on Afghanistan, Blackadder Goes Forth, cause war, European aristocracies, existential threat, First World War,First world war anniversary, Gallipoli, German expansionism, lions led by donkeys, Michael Gove, Middle East, Oh What A Lovely War, oil reserves, out-of-touch elite, Passchendaele, patriotic common people being, Republican neoconservatives, series of catastrophic mistakes, structure of power, tragic war, Treaty of Versailles, UK Education Secretary, unpatriotic views, Vietnam War, war interpretations, Ypres
No comments:
Post a Comment