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September 03, 2004
A memory of war
The 3rd of September marks the day on which Western Europe plunged into a war which would engulf the world in 1939. That was the day that appeasement of Hitler and his vicious cronies, Stalin, Mussolini, and the Japanese Military Government finally failed, and decent men, men unafraid of responsibility, took charge and made a stand against tyranny. It marked the day the "unfinished business" of 1918 finally came home to roost.
No sane person ever "celebrates" a war. No sane person ever wants one. But, as the Roman historian Pliny noted, "Ce vis pacem; para bellum." It is a simple philosophy, and one the "free" democracies regularly forget to their cost and shame. Translated, it says - "Who seeks peace; prepares for war!"
It is the motto of the former Royal Navy School of Gunnery at Whale Island, Portsmouth, HMS Excellent. It is apt, but it is also forgotten that it was while Britian had a fleet capable of reaching anywhere in the world with which to deal with any dictator, pirate, or insurrection that the world enjoyed almost exactly one hundred years of peace under the Pax Britannica. Those days are long gone, and now we live in the Pax Americana, a recent comer to this field, and one we hope will stay alert and sufficiently aware of the responsibilities to maintain another hundred years of peace - who can tell?
It is fitting at this time to remember that the war cost a lot of lives, not just soldiers, but civilians. This was the first time mass bombing of cities was used as a tool of war; this was not the first time, however, that civilian populations were used as pawns on the checkerboard of strategy, and naturally there were enormous casualties there as well.
We in this little isle tend to forget that it was the Merchant Navy who braved the sea routes and the U-boats to bring in the food, the raw materials, and the armaments which eventually turned the tide and won the war. They lost 30,000 men in the fight, and their memorial is on Tower Green in London. Next time you pass that way, pause and give thanks for their bravery and sacrifice. It is they who created the peace that we enjoy.
Posted by The Gray Monk at September 3, 2004 04:14 PM