I could pick any topic in the news today and I would soon be reading about corruption, injustice, torture, lying, paedophilia, theft, negligence, brutality, secrecy and deceit. And this is just amongst the people who represent our moral compass: The politicians, the police, the courts, the church, the bankers and the BBC.
These are the people who lecture and ‘advise’ us on just about every aspect of our lives. But the amount of hypocrisy we now have to endure on a daily basis is simply staggering.
In 2014 we were presented with an all – consuming centenary remembrance of the First World War complete with eight hundred and eighty eight thousand ceramic poppies. As usual the British public got behind the idea – especially as many families have lost relatives who were dear to them.
The poppies filled every newscast, newspaper and magazine. People turned up in their thousands with their digital cameras and I-phones to take pictures. It was pure theatre created by Paul Cummins and stage designer Tom Piper but I’m sure I was in a minority with my feelings of utter dismay at the sheer scale of such an artificial and orchestrated display of compassion – when real compassion is apparent only by its absence in the minds of the elite.
Many of our so-called ‘representatives’ who so publicly took part are, in one way or another, responsible for over a million deaths in Iraq, mostly civilians – many of them women and children. These were people who never had a choice, never had a hope and died without glory or remembrance. So where are their poppies?
Could part of the reason be that there is no photo opportunity in Iraq? For their ancient buildings once bathed in their own sea of crimson now stand in a desert of depleted uranium and are no longer fit for royal visits, being as they are, mostly rubble.
The innocent survivors of their war lost not only their family members but their homes, their country and their identity as a people.
Children with the most terrible deformities are still being born into abject poverty and hopelessness. What do you think ‘the fallen’ might have to say about that? – All those young men who were willing to give up their lives to save others – especially women and children.
In the Israeli/Palestinian conflict, Palestinian deaths now currently outnumber Israeli’s by nine to one as the ethnic cleansing continues. Over nine thousand Palestinians have died just since September 2000.
Over 389-thousand Israeli settlers are now living in the West Bank settlements. Yet western politicians like David Cameron are proud to stand up in public and swear allegiance to Israel and the BBC is happy to help with its flagrant bias.
Let me be clear about something here, I am in no way trying to make light of the sacrifices made by all those who fell in battle during the four years of hell on earth that was the First World War. Of course they should be remembered but with no more or less respect or regret than any victim of any war, no matter who they were or where they died.
A small stone monument dedicated to the victims of all wars erected on the centenary of WW1 and a simple ceremony conducted by members of the public, backed by the will of ordinary people to put an end to conflict, despite their leaders, would in my opinion, have been a far more valuable and sincere gesture to the dead.
There is always more to making war than we are told and usually it has little to do with trying to make peace. Just take look at the long history of false flag operations, the hidden agreements kept out of the news and the making of money from the sale of arms. Peaceful solutions have often been ignored in favour of sending in troops with little or no regard for loss of life whether they be soldiers or civilians and, as is most always the case, those orchestrating the events are far out of harm’s way.
The victims of the First World War were told that they were fighting in ‘The War To End All Wars.’ Then there was another. We celebrate their valour in ceramic splendour as we simultaneously continue the killing in far away countries.
Our lost relatives died for a world that, thanks to the current power structure, is every bit as oppressed and unsafe as it was before they lost their lives – more so in many ways. Whether it was Einstein who first said it or not, surely repeating the same process over and over and expecting different results is insanity? So what should this tell us about war?
The poppies were, for me, a spectacular demonstration of hypocrisy on a grand and royal scale. In my opinion, they were seen as an opportunity for a theatrical show that might help to distract a tired, disillusioned public and bolster support for an ever more corrupt and failing dysfunctional political system.
The problem is that we are governed, ruled and controlled by a self-supporting, self-regulating entity who’s only allegiance these days it seems, is to itself. Behind the scenes, friends, favours and contacts are shared across all parties and with powerful corporations. It is a state of affairs that is bound to lead to foul play.
The gambling bankers, torturers, war-mongers, child abusers and their accomplices should be brought to justice in full public view – whoever they are, wherever they are. No more secrets, no more missing witnesses, no more arrested victims, shredded evidence or shelved investigations. But it won’t happen any time soon – all the time they can just pull a string, phone a friend or dodge a question nothing will change.
As Churchill would not have put it: Never have so many been lied to by so few, about so much.
These people are answerable to us – all of them. Not the other way around as they would have us believe. We should be sending them a clear message that criminal behaviour is not OK – that we are tired of the blatant abuse of their power and privilege.
It’s up to us all to make our voices heard loud and clear if we are to get the changes we so desperately need in our everyday lives. Speak out while you still can, for the way things are going, freedom of speech will soon be a thing of the past. There is a tightening gag on the media and a creeping control of the internet and your silence – as always – is taken as consent. If you don’t want more war in your name – say so.
If we are to have a better world, we must learn to see through the ever more elaborate staged distractions and empty, meaningless speeches. Speeches made by people who are never affected themselves and are far too busy feathering their own nests to care. We must recognise what really matters beyond and grasp it before it’s too late.
Just imagine what we could achieve if we all got as fired up about war, injustice and corruption as we do about Christmas, football or Strictly Come Dancing. The world would change overnight.
Then everyone would truly have a New Year worth looking forward to instead of just more of the same insanity.
Sean Hunter
