War isn't normal...is it?

 

Well, I suppose you could argue the exact opposite; that war is, in fact, very normal.  Although Western Europe has been blessed by decades of peace since WWII, other conflicts have proliferated and, of course, since February Ukraine has dominated our thoughts and prayers.

It seems to me that when conflict so cruelly interrupts life, one of our very natural responses is to try to re-create, in some small way, a sense of normalcy around us.  The Revd Tubby Clayton, a WWI chaplain did this at Talbot House, in Belgium.  In those bleak days he started what became known as Toch H; an upstairs room that became a comforting ‘home from home’ for soldiers so far away from loved ones.

I saw a snippet of a BBC report a few days ago of a family from Ukraine who, when the bombs are falling on their town, crouch in the kitchen with their young daughters and together make bird song noises.  By re-creating a beautiful sound – one that used to be so normal - they seek to distract their daughters, so they don’t hear the abnormal noises of destruction outside.

Two thoughts regularly come into my mind around Remembrance Sunday.  Firstly, I note, with appreciation, the quiet and sincere dignity surrounding our commemorations.  Indeed, during my college years in London I twice attended Remembrance Sunday at The Cenotaph and will always recall the deep emotion upon hearing the massed bands strike up Elgar’s Nimrod.  Then, secondly, I think of the truly horrific opening scenes of the film Saving Private Ryan, set at the time of the Normandy Landings.  I’ve never managed to get passed the beginning of this film because of its graphic and truthful betrayal of the brutality of war.  Yet, for all that I think, if I were a history lecturer, I might make it required viewing for my students – with the hope that such an honest depiction may guide future generations not to go down the same avenues as previous ones.

So, I really do want to say, and to believe, and to strive for a world where war isn’t normal and should never be seen as inevitable.  It is the prayer I will be praying in my heart at 11 o’clock this Sunday as we salute, with gratitude, all those who gave their lives so that I, who have lived all my life in ‘freedom’, can write a blog such as this.