Tuesday, November 11, 2008

Armistice Day: Nov 11, 1918 The End of the War to End all Wars

Today at 11pm. Marks the 90th anniversary of the end of World War One. It ended on the 11th hour, in the 11th day on the 11th month of 1918. Not by choice, by fate.

Empires, Nations, countries, families,  and countless numbers of young men were lost in that dreadful war.

The war was inevitable. A string of military alliances was knitted around the world during the preceding years. Serbia was allied to Russia. Russia was allied to France. Britain was allied to France and Belgium. Germany was allied to the Austrians. The Austrians wanted to fight against the Serbs. No one wanted to concede. Everyone was armed to the teeth. Everyone thought they had the winning spirit to defeat the enemy. Everyone thought the alliances would offer protection.

It is said the seeds of destruction are sown in the strength of our pride. What made the conflict so destructive was the same driving forces that made the nations so strong.

The Europeans believed in democracy (well, in a limited democracy). And so, democracy resulted in a nation at arms. Instead of a handful of professional soldiers fighting the war, the whole nation fought as one. Everyman a soldier. Result: Total War. Millions instead of thousands fought against each other.

And they did it joyfully too. Look at the initial photos of the war. All the young men were happy to sign up and go fight in this "crusade". Fed by a diet of cartoonish heroic tales of warfare, they all thought this would be great fun. Whole communities signed up so that they could all go fight together. The result: whole communities, families of brothers/cousins - died together. Killed by a single artillary shell, cut to pieces by a well aimed machine gun burst. Each battle loss was magnified.

And what made this conflict so very destructive? Technology and Industrialization: the same tools that made the Western Nations Great. With the combustion engine, mass production, factories could churn out machine guns, rifles, massive artillary guns, railroads, steam ships, barbed wire, and all the ammunition they needed to go conquer the world. By 1914, the Western Powers had taken over the whole world. Britain owned India, Malaya, Burma, Canada, Australia, parts of Africa. (And Germany wanted a slice of that) So much power - so much capacity to bring civilization to the ends of the earth. And instead, they turn it on each other.

And yet fate somehow conspired to give them the worse kind of leaders. Statesmen who couldn't negotiate. Generals who kept on sticking to outdated tactics despite their utter bloody failure. Try harder, they said.

Young men were being thrown into the battle in mass suicidal charges. Boys against Machine guns. Trying to attack in knee deep muddy battlefields, trapped in barbed wire. Holed up in rat-infested dugouts whilst the enemy was raining down a murderous hail of sharpnel and poisonous gas. The fruits of a proud civilization drowning in their blood covered in filthy mud.

How sad. This was the generation, a naive generation, that firmly believed in Duty, Honor, Country and God. A generation that had faith in its leaders, utmost respect for its elders. A generation that could quote the Greek Tragedies in the original ancient language. A generation that saw marriage as a lifetime committment. And a generation that died in vain.

20 years later - the survivors would see their own sons march off into another destructive conflict (World War Two). How terribly sad. They tried to be appeasers - to make peace at all costs.

I think each generation will face its own dilemma. It will probably be different each time. A solution that worked so well in the past, may not be so appropriate this time round. How we deal with it will determine our children's future. To find a solution - it calls for a spirit of humility, and a desire for holiness, godly behavior. No I'm not expecting people to burst out into "Kum Bah Yah". I'm hoping for a godly spirit - the one that produces love, joy, peace, patience- respect for your fellowmen, and, of course, humility and a prayful spirit. A spirit that puts God's Laws first- and not "Country, Family, and Self."

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