I don’t wear a poppy.
It is not a sign of disrespect. I just don’t wear anything ever as an indicator of how wonderful I have been at putting money into some old soldier’s collecting box.
To be honest, it’s been a while, but there have been many times I have given money when different causes and organisations have rattled their tins next to me and tried to get me to exchange a few coins for their flag or sticker or ribbon which I am then supposed to wear. These have included those selling the poppies. However, for as long as I can remember I have refused to take and wear whatever it is they are ‘selling’ in exchange for my donation.
It seems to me that as long as I know that I have ‘given’, I don’t have to wear anything to show off to others about how good or wonderful I am. It is a private communing between my conscience and my actions, and it shouldn’t be a public statement.
Maybe, in the case of poppies I am missing the point, and the public statement should be more one of solidarity and respect than one of, “Hey look everybody, I have given.” I do get that, yet I historically remain without a poppy for the increasingly long period one is supposed to wear one each year.
By not wearing a poppy I mean no disrespect. I’m not one of those awful people who wears white poppies in order to make a stupid and shamefully ignorant gesture at those who served on the battlefields of old or the battlefields of today. White poppy wearers disgust any and all rational thinking person.
I do actually respect those who go to war on ‘our’ behalf. In modern times, maybe they are being sent to war for things they shouldn’t be sent to war for. Maybe it really is a long way off from defending ‘our shores’ from invasion. There can be no dispute about the validity of repelling Hitler and any invasion of our country, but us still fighting Tony Blair’s crusades in far off lands? Yep, open to question.
However, that question should be for the politicians and the leaders and the people on the top who make the decisions. It should not be for those who are following orders and doing the job they’ve been instructed to.
These are the ordinary men and women, the ordinary folk who just happen to be loyal to whatever their politicians demand of them. These are the ordinary people we should remember and respect, when pointlessly they are killed or maimed for just doing as they are told.
Without wearing a poppy, I do pause and think about them.
England's England 