• Facebook
  • Twitter

Dreaming Beneath the Spires

Anita Mathias's Blog on Faith and Art

  • Home
  • My Books
  • Essays
  • Contact
  • About Me

Ambivalence on Remembrance Day: The old lie, Dulce est Decorum Est Pro Patria Mori

By Anita Mathias

If you could hear, at every jolt, the blood
Come gargling from the froth-corrupted lungs,
Obscene as cancer, bitter as the cud
Of vile, incurable sores on innocent tongues,
My friend, you would not tell with such high zest
To children ardent for some desperate glory,
The old Lie; Dulce et Decorum est
Pro patria mori.
Wilfred Owen.

Dulce et Decorum est pro patria mori. “How sweet and fitting it is to die for one’s country!” (the “old lie” first written by Horace).

We had a two minute silence at Bible Study today as we played Radio Four and remembered 11 o’clock, on the 11th of November, 1918.
I feel very uncomfortable and ambivalent on Remembrance Day, or Veterans Day, as it’s known in the US.
The conscription after 1916 during the First World War was a tragedy, and those who lost their lives unnecessarily because of inept politicians and their inept political manoeuvring should be mourned.
The Allied involvement in the Second World War was certainly among the few unambiguously good military actions, and one can be whole-heartedly grateful to those who fought and lost their lives in the attempt to stop Hitler and Hirohito, sooner rather than later.
My father lived in England from 1944 to 1952, and was an air-raid warden in London in 1944-45. We grew up enthralled by his memories, and for years, I read everything I came across on the Second World War.
It struck me, though, that evil is self-limiting. That the Third Reich would have collapsed anyway. It was expanding too fast; was too hated in the countries it conquered; was expending too many resources in their mad quest for the genocidal “Final Solution.” But still, they did need to be stopped as soon as possible.
However, I cannot say that Britain’s involvement in the “small wars” since 1945, –the Gulf War, Iraq, and Afghanistan among them has been unambiguously good. The Vernacular Vicar writes, “Last Sunday, among the list of those who had died in our community, I read out the considerable list of more young men and women who have died for their country during 2011.”
However, how can we say that those who have died in Iraq and Afghanistan have died for their country? How has their country been served by their deaths, so sad for their family and friends? Sadly, the situation in both Iraq and Afghanistan is arguably worse that before the Anglo-American invasions. Both Britain and America would, arguably, have been better served if their young people had stayed home, and served their countries at home.
Neither Britain nor America (to mention the two countries in which I’ve listed for the last 27 years) appears to be in any present danger of invasion or attack, now or in the foreseeable future. The military is now a profession like any other. The young people sent to the middle east are not really keeping those at home safe, nor are they giving their lives for those at home, despite the rhetoric we hear. Should the military be more celebrated than those who have chosen any other profession?
* * *
What aspect of Remembrance Day do I find hardest? Well, of course, celebrating those who lost their lives in the India, or in the Commonwealth, or in the cause of the British Empire.
The British Empire, I believe, was a bad thing, not an unambiguously bad thing–but a bad thing. Its raison d’etre was the transfer of wealth from the colonized countries to the mother country. It did not exist for the good of the colonized countries, but for the good of the mother country. It has taken the colonized countries decades to recover from the British Empire, and few have done so completely.
The dramatic difference in living standards in England and the empire (India, Pakistan, Malaya, Sudan, Ghana, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Jamaica etc.) makes it clear that the British Empire was a case of exploitation pure and simple. however it might have been couched as “the white man’s burden” to civilize “lesser breeds without the law.”
So for those who died fighting for the Empire, I do not mourn.
Though the Empire itself, I believe, existed for unambiguously bad reasons–exploitation–it was not itself unambiguously bad. These are some of the things which possibly came to India sooner than they would have because of the British Empire: railways, good universities, a good legal system, a parliamentary democracy, and the English language.
Ah, the English language in which I now write! For that, I could forgive the British Empire a lot, though it is not mine to forgive.
· * *
Last thought on Remembrance Day.
Has any Christian country ever tried to practice the non-violence espoused in the Sermon on the Mount? To go an extra mile with a bullying soldier. To give a cloak, if a coat is taken. To present the other cheek when slapped.
A society which practiced non-violence would not need an army, and would save billions of pounds.
Would it be instantly invaded? Or do innocence, goodness and non-violence have their own power, protection, and efficacy as fairy tales of all nations tell us, and as Gandhi, Martin Luther King and Desmond Tutu in recent times have shown us?
I would love to know, and I guess I can only find out by experimenting with it in my own life.
The only reason Jesus, in good conscience, advocated gentleness and non-violence in the face of a brutal and bullying occupying power was because he knew his disciples were acting in a play written by someone else, his father who was writing the play and would control how it all turned out.
And how did it turn out? The Romans? My daughter studied some of their words for her Latin GCSE, and recited the old chestnut with feeling, Latin is a language as dead as dead can be. First it killed the Romans, and now it’s killing me.
But the words of Jesus and his disciples? I met this morning to discuss them in North Oxford with a brilliant, varied group of 14 women—a doctor, an English professor, two wives of principals of Oxford Colleges, assorted academics and wives, charity and health workers, and well, a blogger J. The words of Jesus are still as alive and as vital as when they were spoken. And as challenging.
“Non-violence when confronted with our enemies?” some of his first listeners must have said. “Vis-à-vis the Romans? Is he nuts? We need to get them out of Israel.”
And others must have said, “Well, he also talks of his father who can send twelve legions. He sounds like a man who knows what he is talking about. I think I would like to try this man Jesus’s way.”
And well, so would I.

More from my site

  • Zoe and Irene, sweet sistersZoe and Irene, sweet sisters
  • Does God have Favourites?Does God have Favourites?
  • On Learning Focus From My MistakesOn Learning Focus From My Mistakes
  • The Gift of ListeningThe Gift of Listening
  • First World Christians and Immigration: A God’s Eye ViewFirst World Christians and Immigration: A God’s Eye View
Share this...
Share on Facebook
Facebook
Tweet about this on Twitter
Twitter

Filed Under: random

« Previous Post
Next Post »

Comments

  1. Anita says

    November 14, 2011 at 7:20 pm

    Totally agree, Chelliah/Jane 🙂

  2. Chelliah Laity says

    November 13, 2011 at 8:48 pm

    I think you were right to bring up the political aspect of war because many, including me, do question the justification or not of the deaths of soldiers in the name of war. Wars are conducted for political gain.

  3. Anita says

    November 12, 2011 at 9:45 am

    @ Mark, Thank you! It's good to hear that from someone who has served in the US military in numerous theaters–you know whereof you speak!
    @ Jennifer, yes, perhaps choosing Remembrance Day to write this post was in the very best taste. But I do think, as Mark wrote, that the glorification of the military leads to “a waste of life, time, and resources.” It's true that the US needed the military to prevent future 9/11 type of military attacks, but according to Bin Laden, 9/11 was itself revenge for the US air attacks on Lebanon etc.
    Next year, I'll post my thoughts on this a little bit before 11/11, not on the day itself!:)

  4. Jennifer in OR says

    November 12, 2011 at 5:13 am

    I have no ambivalence on this day, I am just thankful. I don't use this day to think about the political aspects of war, whether just or necessary, or wrong, that can be for another day. But that human life WAS expended, precious young people who put their lives and families on the line because they did indeed believe it was just, and will we ever really know for certain?
    {but I do so appreciate your thoughts here}

  5. [email protected] Cord.com says

    November 12, 2011 at 12:01 am

    I really loved this post! We have been shouting similar sentiments in our blog is well. Having served in the US military in numerous theaters of war- I can say, with all manner of certainty, that not one of these endeavors were worth a single life. What a waste of life, time, and resources.

    May we eventually come to our senses and come together.

Sign Up and Get a Free eBook!

Sign up to be emailed my blog posts (one a week) and get the ebook of "Holy Ground," my account of working with Mother Teresa.

Join 642 Other Readers

Follow me on Twitter

Follow @anitamathias1

Anita Mathias: About Me

Anita Mathias

Read my blog on Facebook

My Books

Wandering Between Two Worlds: Essays on Faith and Art

Wandering Between Two Worlds - Amazon.com
Amazon.com

Amazon.co.uk

Francesco, Artist of Florence: The Man Who Gave Too Much

Francesco, Artist of Florence - Amazom.com
Amazon.com

Amazon.co.uk

The Story of Dirk Willems

The Story of Dirk Willems - Amazon.com
Amazon.com

Amazon.co.uk
Premier Digital Awards 2015 - Finalist - Blogger of the year
Runner Up Christian Media Awards 2014 - Tweeter of the year

Recent Posts

  •  On Not Wasting a Desert Experience
  • A Mind of Life and Peace in the Middle of a Global Pandemic
  • On Yoga and Following Jesus
  • Silver and Gold Linings in the Storm Clouds of Coronavirus
  • Trust: A Message of Christmas
  • Life- Changing Journaling: A Gratitude Journal, and Habit-Tracker, with Food and Exercise Logs, Time Sheets, a Bullet Journal, Goal Sheets and a Planner
  • On Loving That Which Love You Back
  • “An Autobiography in Five Chapters” and Avoiding Habitual Holes  
  • Shining Faith in Action: Dirk Willems on the Ice
  • The Story of Dirk Willems: The Man who Died to Save His Enemy

Categories

What I’m Reading

Childhood, Youth, Dependency: The Copenhagen Trilogy
Tove Ditlevsen

  The Copenhagen Trilogy  - Amazon.com
Amazon.com

Amazon.co.uk

Amazing Faith: The Authorized Biography of Bill Bright
Michael Richardson

Amazing Faith -- Bill Bright -- Amazon.com
Amazon.com

Amazon.co.uk

On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft
Stephen King

On Writing --  Amazon.com
Amazon.com

Amazon.co.uk

Acedia & me: A Marriage, Monks, and a Writer's Life
Kathleen Norris

KATHLEEN NORRIS --  Amazon.com
Amazon.com

Amazon.co.uk


Andrew Marr


A History of the World
Amazon.com
https://amzn.to/3cC2uSl

Amazon.co.uk

Opened Ground: Poems, 1966-96
Seamus Heaney


Opened Ground: Poems, 1966-96 
Amazon.com
Amazon.com

Amazon.co.uk

Archive by month

INSTAGRAM

anita.mathias

Writer, Blogger, Reader, Mum. Christian. Instaing Oxford, travel, gardens and healthy meals. Oxford English alum. Writing memoir. Lives in Oxford, UK

Images from walks around Oxford. #beauty #oxford # Images from walks around Oxford. #beauty #oxford #walking #tranquility #naturephotography #nature
So we had a lovely holiday in the Southwest. And h So we had a lovely holiday in the Southwest. And here we are at one of the world’s most famous and easily recognisable sites.
#stonehenge #travel #england #prehistoric England #family #druids
And I’ve blogged https://anitamathias.com/2020/09/13/on-not-wasting-a-desert-experience/
So, after Paul the Apostle's lightning bolt encounter with the Risen Christ on the road to Damascus, he went into the desert, he tells us...
And there, he received revelation, visions, and had divine encounters. The same Judean desert, where Jesus fasted for forty days before starting his active ministry. Where Moses encountered God. Where David turned from a shepherd to a leader and a King, and more, a man after God’s own heart.  Where Elijah in the throes of a nervous breakdown hears God in a gentle whisper. 
England, where I live, like most of the world is going through a desert experience of continuing partial lockdowns. Covid-19 spreads through human contact and social life, and so we must refrain from those great pleasures. We are invited to the desert, a harsh place where pruning can occur, and spiritual fruitfulness.
A plague like this has not been known for a hundred years... John Piper, after his cancer diagnosis, exhorted people, “Don’t Waste Your Cancer”—since this was the experience God permitted you to have, and He can bring gold from it. Pandemics and plagues are permitted (though not willed or desired) by a Sovereign God, and he can bring life-change out of them. 
Let us not waste this unwanted, unchosen pandemic, this opportunity for silence, solitude and reflection. Let’s not squander on endless Zoom calls—or on the internet, which, if not used wisely, will only raise anxiety levels. Let’s instead accept the invitation to increased silence and reflection
Let's use the extra free time that many of us have long coveted and which has now been given us by Covid-19 restrictions to seek the face of God. To seek revelation. To pray. 
And to work on those projects of our hearts which have been smothered by noise, busyness, and the tumult of people and parties. To nurture the fragile dreams still alive in our hearts. The long-deferred duty or vocation
So, we are about eight weeks into lockdown, and I So, we are about eight weeks into lockdown, and I have totally sunk into the rhythm of it, and have got quiet, very quiet, the quietest spell of time I have had as an adult.
I like it. I will find going back to the sometimes frenetic merry-go-round of my old life rather hard. Well, I doubt I will go back to it. I will prune some activities, and generally live more intentionally and mindfully.
I have started blocking internet of my phone and laptop for longer periods of time, and that has brought a lot of internal quiet and peace.
Some of the things I have enjoyed during lockdown have been my daily long walks, and gardening. Well, and reading and working on a longer piece of work.
Here are some images from my walks.
And if you missed it, a blog about maintaining peace in the middle of the storm of a global pandemic
https://anitamathias.com/2020/05/04/a-mind-of-life-and-peace/  #walking #contemplating #beauty #oxford #pandemic
A few walks in Oxford in the time of quarantine. A few walks in Oxford in the time of quarantine.  We can maintain a mind of life and peace during this period of lockdown by being mindful of our minds, and regulating them through meditation; being mindful of our bodies and keeping them happy by exercise and yoga; and being mindful of our emotions in this uncertain time, and trusting God who remains in charge. A new blog on maintaining a mind of life and peace during lockdown https://anitamathias.com/2020/05/04/a-mind-of-life-and-peace/
In the days when one could still travel, i.e. Janu In the days when one could still travel, i.e. January 2020, which seems like another life, all four of us spent 10 days in Malta. I unplugged, and logged off social media, so here are some belated iphone photos of a day in Valetta.
Today, of course, there’s a lockdown, and the country’s leader is in intensive care.
When the world is too much with us, and the news stresses us, moving one’s body, as in yoga or walking, calms the mind. I am doing some Yoga with Adriene, and again seeing the similarities between the practice of Yoga and the practice of following Christ.
https://anitamathias.com/2020/04/06/on-yoga-and-following-jesus/
#valleta #valletamalta #travel #travelgram #uncagedbird
Images from some recent walks in Oxford. I am copi Images from some recent walks in Oxford.
I am coping with lockdown by really, really enjoying my daily 4 mile walk. By savouring the peace of wild things. By trusting that God will bring good out of this. With a bit of yoga, and weights. And by working a fair amount in my garden. And reading.
How are you doing?
#oxford #oxfordinlockdown #lockdown #walk #lockdownwalks #peace #beauty #happiness #joy #thepeaceofwildthings
Images of walks in Oxford in this time of social d Images of walks in Oxford in this time of social distancing. The first two are my own garden.  And I’ve https://anitamathias.com/2020/03/28/silver-and-gold-linings-in-the-storm-clouds-of-coronavirus/ #corona #socialdistancing #silverlinings #silence #solitude #peace
Trust: A Message of Christmas He came to earth in Trust: A Message of Christmas  He came to earth in a  splash of energy
And gentleness and humility.
That homeless baby in the barn
Would be the lynchpin on which history would ever after turn
Who would have thought it?
But perhaps those attuned to God’s way of surprises would not be surprised.
He was already at the centre of all things, connecting all things. * * *
Augustus Caesar issued a decree which brought him to Bethlehem,
The oppressions of colonialism and conquest brought the Messiah exactly where he was meant to be, the place prophesied eight hundred years before his birth by the Prophet Micah.
And he was already redeeming all things. The shame of unwed motherhood; the powerlessness of poverty.
He was born among animals in a barn, animals enjoying the sweetness of life, animals he created, animals precious to him.
For he created all things, and in him all things hold together
Including stars in the sky, of which a new one heralded his birth
Drawing astronomers to him.
And drawing him to the attention of an angry King
As angelic song drew shepherds to him.
An Emperor, a King, scholars, shepherds, angels, animals, stars, an unwed mother
All things in heaven and earth connected
By a homeless baby
The still point on which the world still turns. The powerful centre. The only true power.
The One who makes connections. * * *
And there is no end to the wisdom, the crystal glints of the Message that birth brings.
To me, today, it says, “Fear not, trust me, I will make a way.” The baby lay gentle in the barn
And God arranges for new stars, angelic song, wise visitors with needed finances for his sustenance in the swiftly-coming exile, shepherds to underline the anointing and reassure his parents. “Trust me in your dilemmas,” the baby still says, “I will make a way. I will show it to you.” Happy Christmas everyone.  https://anitamathias.com/2019/12/24/trust-a-message-of-christmas/ #christmas #gemalderieberlin #trust #godwillmakeaway
Look, I’ve designed a journal. It’s an omnibus Look, I’ve designed a journal. It’s an omnibus Gratitude journal, habit tracker, food and exercise journal, bullet journal, with time sheets, goal sheets and a Planner. Everything you’d like to track.  Here’s a post about it with ISBNs https://anitamathias.com/2019/12/23/life-changing-journalling/. Check it out. I hope you and your kids like it!
Load More… Follow on Instagram

© 2021 Dreaming Beneath the Spires · All Rights Reserved. · Cookie Policy · Privacy Policy

»
«