Requiem for War

So Abram rose, and clave the wood, and went,
And took the fire with him, and a knife.
And as they sojourned both of them together,
Isaac the first-born spake and said, My Father,
Behold the preparations, fire and iron,
But where the lamb for this burnt-offering?
Then Abram bound the youth with belts and straps,
And builded parapets and trenched there,
And streched forth the knife to slay his son.
When lo! and angel called him out of heaven,
Saying, Lay not thy hand upon the lad,
Neither do anything to him. Behold,
A ram, caught in a thicket by its horns;
Offer the Ram of Pride instead of him.

But the the old man would not so

but slew his son, -
And half the seed of Europe, one by one.

- Wilfred Owen

I'm in London for the 100th anniversary of the beginning of World War I. To mark this occasion, an art installation has been put in place at the Tower of London. It consists of millions of ceramic poppies spilling from the Tower window like so much wasted blood onto the ground below.

Why did they choose to put the poppies at the Tower of London specifically? During World War I the Tower served as a mobilisation point for troops and for executing spies. I don't know much about the history of the Tower of London beyond how it served the kings and queens of London as both private appartments and prison for many centuries. Learning about the countless wars in England that occurred before the two in most recent memory has opened my eyes a lot. In school this week we started studying Shakespeare's history plays and I was fascinated. I was also disappointed. When we think of wars we think not only about the outcome but about what sparked the wars and for what cause we were fighting. In these plays, almost EVERY SINGLE WAR is about someone usurping another's throne. Just like how most murders are committed by someone you know, all usurpings are done the same way. In this case, it was brothers and cousins. These people were part of the same family. They were all rich, they were all noble. They just wanted more. Yes the question of "Oh while YOU were on the throne YOU lost parts of French territory!" came up a lot too. Let's be honest. It all comes down to greed. In 1914 the heir to the Austro-Hungarian empire was murdered which sparked a war between that empire and Serbia. Alliances being what they were at the time, nation after nation was forced into a conflict that eventually became about... wait for it....land. Germany being in allegiance with the Austro-Hungarian empire began invading Belgium and eventually France. What did that have to do with the assassination exactly? *she asked naively*

In World War II the rise of fascism threatened the freedom of many peoples in Europe. However, this conflict seemed to be equally about taking over other people's territories as about establishing fascist principles. Why did Hitler need to invade other countries? Why wasn't he content to just convert Germany? I'm going to assume it was because he was greedy and evil. And that, my friends, is what war is all about.

Greed can set someone up into a position of power which means they can treat the underlings however they want. They can give and take land. They can impose religions. They can make or break rules. And so the hierarchy of war is created. But don't forget where it starts. 

Now, I am a well-educated white woman with a family who loves her and the opportunity to pursue her dreams in a magnificent city. The struggles I deal with are few. I don't pretend to know a lot about the countless wars being fought around the globe right now but I have read my history books. There is a common denominator there that can't be ignored.

I believe we were fighting for our freedom in World War II. I believe we were fighting to protect our own in World War I. But I don't believe the industry of war has changed since Alexander first took it up for himself 2000 years ago. We've been bashing each other's heads in while playing Who Has the Most Fruit? since we were primates. Except you know what? We should fucking know better by now. 

Be slowly lifted up, thou long black arm, Great gun towering toward Heaven, about to curse; Reach at that arrogance which needs thy harm, And beat it down before its sins grow worse; But when thy spell be cast complete and whole, May God curse thee, and cut thee from our soul!

My flatmate and I went to see a new play called James II which is part of a new trilogy about three Scottish kings around the 12th Century. As Maria sardonically yet casually pointed out "Just what this industry needs: three more plays about white men and their land". We have the freedom more than ever to write about so many different things. Why is it important that we keep writing plays on this subject? Isn't that horse dead yet? Not many people read Shakespeare through the detailed lense I'm doing now at school. If they did, they would recognise the stories as deterrents for the kind of behaviour seen in former monarchies. Creating new versions of the same shit with language as banal and simplistic that any person can understand it, only serves to glorify being young, rich and in power. 

I was watching Star Trek: The Next Generation movie First Contact last night because I couldn't sleep. In it, the Enterprise goes back in time to ensure that Earth's timeline isn't tampered with by the Borg at a crucial part of history. Picard says to 22nd Century engineer Lily "The acquisition of wealth is no longer the driving force in our lives. We work to better ourselves and the rest of humanity." Gene Roddenberry had a dream. And I think most nerds you meet, no matter how many violent video games they might play, or how many battle scenes they find thrilling in movies, will tell you they believe that he was right. According to Trek lore, in the 22nd century, Earth comes into contact with an alien race far more advanced than they, and subsequently our way of life changes. Picard doesn't say that we just stopped being violent, he says that we stopped trying to accumulate wealth. 

After going to see the poppies today we went to see a performance of Benjamin Britten's War Requiem. Britten himself was a passivist so interspersed with the Latin text of the usual requiem mass are several poems written by WWI soldier Wilfred Owen before he lost his life for his country. 

I think Britten wanted his Requiem to signify that this was a requiem for war--that the time of war was dead. At the concert today, much of the proceeds of ticket sales were going to Veteran's aid which the announcer said "sadly, we will continue to need well into the future". I owe a lot to people like Wilfred Owen and I will always remember that. And Germany is a very different country to the one she was in 1914 or 1939. I hope that when the Vulcans finally fly overhead that we, as a global community, are ready to receive them and humble enough to change.