Tuesday, November 11, 2014

Remembrance Day 2014

"There never has been a good war, or a bad peace"
~Benjamin Franklin~

 Photo (c) Jean Ballard 2014
Teach the children about the realities of war, not the glorification of it.  Only then will the next generation look for other ways to resolve political and religious differences.

Teach them of its horrors  - horrors for the men and women on the battlefield regardless of which side they were on;  horrors for the chidren whose parents died, the parents whose children died, the spouses whose partners died;  horrors for the citizens of large cities and small villages who were wiped out in military attacks.

We wouldn't let kids play games that mimic rape; why do we let them play games that mimic war? We wouldn't promote toys that facilitate games of domestic violence; why do we promote toys that facilitate games of international violence? We wouldn't claim toys teaching animal abuse have a cathartic effect or meet some genetic need;  why do we claim this to be true for war toys?

Teach the children the skills they need to live in peace.

4 comments:

Ellen Nickerson said...

Very well said.

CarolineA said...

WOW Jean, you hit the nail right on the head!

Anonymous said...

You are soo right Jean.

E.

Julia Hones said...

Excellent post.
Glorifying wars is a big mistake.