Beware of politicians calling for patriotism

THE extensive correspondence on war and remembrance in your letters columns shows the subject is still controversial. It is amazing that huge numbers of ordinary people can be incited to sacrifice their lives in causes inaccurately labelled ‘patriotic’.

Surely, calls to patriotism can only be justifiably made when the survival of one’s country is directly at risk. Many wars have been fought and literally millions killed in situations where territorial and economic gain, together with military prestige, were the actual motivating forces.

The gains, if any, were likely to accrue to those who kept their persons far removed from the field of battle while those who fought and died, or were severely wounded, received nothing more than a small piece of metal attached to a scrap of ribbon.

The treatment of wounded veterans and the families of those who fell was frequently a disgrace.

War has been described as the failure of politics and we should look long and hard before responding to calls to patriotism from the engineers of that failure. We should avoid any glorification of war or militarism, including elaborate remembrance ceremonies.

David Roberts

‘Gloundine’

Castlegrove

Mallow

Co Cork