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GORDON DUFF: CHRISTMAS: PEACE AND WAR
AWAITING A CHRISTMAS FORGOTTEN BEFORE IT CAME
DECEMBER 1914
By Gordon Duff STAFF WRITER/Senior Editor
In 1914, during the first bleak Christmas in the trenches of Europe, Christmas came and war stopped. Informal truces were declared, war stopped and men who had been killing each other crossed No Man’s Land, and approached their bitter enemy in a spirit of brotherhood. The first brutal world conflict nearly ended that day.
It took threats of court martial and execution to get the carnage on track. Humanity had reared its ugly head, threatening to bring down the entire filthy system of debauchery and exploitation that has kept humanity in bestial slavery well past what should have been our awakening as a sentient species.
Nearly a hundred years ago, it was more than the holiday traditions, the shared tunes sung in different languages, the common religious symbols and imagery that challenged a war. It was the discovery of, not only a common humanity but the shared experience of all warriors, all “modern” warriors.
Since the industrial revolution, war has become a periodic cleansing, or, more rather, a flushing of our national sewage in reverse.Modern society has risen excrement to human form, crowned it with authority, power, wealth and honor.
That which a healthy society would sweep away, the foul stench, the waste, the disease, now pulls the chain. This is even beyond Darwin. It isn’t the primordial ooze that has risen to the top of the food chain, the proverbial cockroach, but rather something less, much less.
In 1914, the world, the world of “the west” was a small one. You could travel from London to Paris to Berlin to Vienna in a little over a day. The civilized world existed there, or so we imagined, a world that, by 1919 will have come to an end.
The Treaty of Versailles, one of many such gatherings, realigned the world, shoving hundreds of millions of people under the control of bizarre and senseless political systems whose shadowy regimes were little but puppets of an economic system that had developed as a form of life, seemingly beyond human but devoid of humanity, empty of feeling, filled only with intent, intent to power, intent to control, intent to destroy.
To serve that intent there arose a species devoid of humanity, devoid of feeling, of even intellect, a species living off rot and stench, a parasitic species.
All conflicts are simply failures of heart. Without heart, only fear is left.
Here in the west, we enter our Christmas, a time of year generally defined by feelings of love, hope, family and nostalgia for what we have lost. What have we lost? Are all of our losses, the ones we feel in our hearts, the same, much as that day, back in 1914 when the trenches emptied in brotherhood and song?
Hope.
How can a world filled with people who hope so much, are willing to sacrifice everything, even their lives, sometimes for people they have never met, be filled with wars that go on year after year, wars that serve no purpose but to crush hope.
For every “combatant” killed, 5 innocents die.
This isn’t just Afghanistan or Iraq or Gaza. It is all war. Every death is a loss of hope, a dream snuffed out, not for any human purpose, no, not human. Is any war worth the death of a single child?
Aren’t we all children?
Don’t we all deserve for ourselves what we wish for our own children? Why would any of us hurt a child? Is there really so much pure unadulterated evil in the world that so many children must die to make us safe?
If this is true, why then is it that those who define evil are the walking, talking embodiments of excrement and their minions, the cockroaches doing their bidding? There are always reasons to murder children. Give someone a uniform, a weapon and a mission and dead children can be stacked like cordwood in the name of something, order, democracy or “national security.”
This 1914, the one nearly a century later, enemies aren’t going to come out of the trenches and sing about baby Jesus, drink brandy and decorate Christmas trees.
In Afghanistan, we send our children to teach the love and goodness of Christian society, a love and goodness felt in hearts behind endless layers of kevlar, hearts kept warm and safe under the watchful eye of Predator drones standing ready to dispense mayhem and destruction, wielded as though it were a child’s toy, a Playstation or Gameboy.
What have we learned in that hundred years? 90 years ago at Versailles we told ourselves we had been ordained by god to rule because we had invented airplanes and machineguns. 90 years later, the world created by the our arrogance then is proving beyond our capacity to control today with our weapons that would have seemed unimaginable to those children who chose to stop a war back in 1914.
Has the human heart changed?Do we hate life? Do we no longer feel? Is death nothing? Is hope useless? Can we define evil as the willingness to do any wrong in the name of good?
Veterans Today Senior Editor Gordon Duff is a Marine combat veteran and regular contributor on
political and social issues.
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Short URL: http://www.veteranstoday.com/?p=9842
Posted by Gordon Duff on Dec 18 2009, With 0 Reads, Filed under Heroes. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. Both comments and pings are currently closed.
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Good story Gordon, factual account too.. Back when I was in Uniform, I have seen past the circumstances of what i was doing and embraced humanity. Felt so good I didn’t need any alcohol. Those were the good times few and far between.
Only problem for me was when we flew out to Freedom Hill in the Central Highlands to deliver “hot chow” in our CH 46D, We actually exposed our fellow Marines just north of that position to Charlie and company.
Later that night I was flying Night medivac and damn it, we had to go pick up five Marines from the exact location. Should the holidays be celebrated in a zone? Not in my mind.
So many Marines and other forces distracted and wounded or killed because some general thinks its a good idea to bring the holiday spirit into a combat zone.
Sorry if I sound like scrooge, but many of these troops might have lived if we didn’t bring this ritual into the zone. Just my feeling on the subject.
Now, back in the world, yeah, I hope all the guys and gals and thier family and friends have a safe, quiet, and enjoyable holiday period. Sempre Fi to all. Jorge Antonio Lovenguth
A need of Power devoid of true Courage lies behind the carnage. As you have pointed out, an economic system is behind all of that destroys… It always has… an economic system that hides behind politics… and even shamelessly at times… religion… whatever it takes to get the good people of the world to offer up freely their own children for ‘the cause’… believing that what they are doing is good and pure. Selfless. Patriotic.
May Hope, Love and Courage be ours and our children’s True North Star.
All of us – people of the Earth.
Lizzie
wonderfully expressed.
thank you
g
Sgt. Macdonald, VA killed my brother in 2004 for speaking up by having a sub contracted doctor change his meds to Soma. He was a dress blue admirals aide who took a 45 to the chest in 67, and then worked as a police officer. Winded up blowing his head off with his 9mm.
He, much like you may be over exposing yourself and they will kill you off. Remember your training and if combat experienced, lay low for awhile. Your playing on their playing field and terms now, you know better!
Listen, I”m a former door gunner HMM 262 70-71 CentralHighlands, who picked up hundreds of fellow Marines under fire and sometimes you have to get out, regroup, and return on your terms.
VA and cops are no friend to veterans for the most part. So it is. And don”t drink! Sempre Fi
Night Flyer said:And don”t drink! Sempre Fi
Here’s a question: “Are we much different than pigeons?”
Read on the short story of John Napier, a member of the upper classes and how they think.
John Napier of Merchistoun (1550 – 4 April 1617) – also signed as Neper, Nepair – named Marvellous Merchiston, was a Scottish mathematician, physicist, astronomer/astrologer and 8th Laird of Merchistoun, son of Sir Archibald Napier of Merchiston. He is most remembered as the inventor of logarithms and Napier’s bones, and for popularizing the use of the decimal point. Napier’s birth place, Merchiston Tower, Edinburgh, Scotland, is now part of Edinburgh Napier University.
His father was Sir Archibald Napier of Merchiston Castle, and his mother, Janet Bothwell, was the daughter of a member of Parliament. Napier’s father was only 16 when his son, John, was born.
Many problems were solved by Napier at his home, Merchiston Castle. One such problem was his neighbor’s pigeons coming over and eating his seed and grain in the fields. After warning the neighbor, Napier sent a message to the neighbor saying he was going to catch the birds and keep them if they flew into his fields again.
The neighbor laughed and replied that if Napier could catch the pigeons he could keep them. The next morning, Napier was out in his yard picking up pigeons and putting them in a sack. Napier had some unorthodox approaches to solving problems such as this one. Napier had soaked peas in brandy and sprinkled them in the yard for the pigeons to eat. Napier was able to pick up the pigeons because they were drunk.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Napier
Have a happy holidays and beware of that “Pigeon moment.”
Great write Gordon,,,wish there were some pictures of those troops gathering to share,,is there any better war story to be told than this? I think not yet.
Federal income taxes and other federal taxes allow the war machine to roll on and on, against the consciences of citizens and soldiers alike.
It seems like only common sense, when our federal government has absolutely proved that it will not be held responsible or accountable to its citizens, to refuse to voluntarily pay for its continued selfish and arrogant behavior.
Our federal government now has its own very well paid public relations and advertising firms to promote and justify its actions,, and we pay these bills. Yes,, we pay for our own delusion.
I think a Mr. Wilson said it more succinctly than I did on a comment page of ICH;
“A tax revolt is necessary, if ,for no other reason, than for individuals to stop committing moral suicide.”
When an American citizen of conscience has seen that their vote has had so little effect,, they are left with only one other form of effective influence; their pocket book.
To the brave veterans who speak out about the true horrors of war,, to the brave soldiers of conscience who are refusing deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan and who are currently imprisoned for their beliefs,, and to the brave men such as Matthew Ho who gave up his government career in order to speak out,,you are my heros,, and you continue to keep me believing that both peace and progress are possible.
We are presently paying for our own subjugation. This is indeed the case.
I will begin searching for a creative accountant with a strong rebel streak who might know how these tax dollars might be held in an escrow account while all the legal maneuvering takes place.
I truly see no other method that could be more effective than a tax revolt of some kind.
If you are such a person,, or if you know of a brave one,, tell them to get in touch with me!
believepeaceispossible@yahoo.com
Just perhaps,, this spring,, a few of the Washington scoundrels will be paying some attention to the people who know that we do not need war on this planet,, or in our lives.
For some reason I still have faith in our nation, and in our constitution, to protect people of conscience who need so very much to speak out and be heard.
My heart goes out to the men and women who will be eating Christmas dinner in their military base cells this December 25th, because they are following their beliefs. Although you will not be hearing it from many of our soldiers who are currently deployed,, to many of them, you are giving them hope,, and just perhaps,, if the truth were known,, they appreciate you even more than I do.
And to Mr. MacDonald in New Hampshire,, you are carrying the constant scars of war,,,your pleas for understanding and compassion are heard,, and may you continue to help others, and continue to protest what you truly feel to be important.
You deserve to be heard just as much as anyone sir,, and it speaks highly of Gordon’s page that your thoughts are included here.
To Gordon,, keep up the good fight,, your words are soothing balms and hopeful rays to the souls who know the myth and failures of war. Thank you for your articles that we read everyday, all year long,, my friend!
Shea
I was really trying to be upbeat but I think my med’s haven’t kicked in properly. I wrote this in 10 minutes…which usually means it is more me than some other things.
No spelling….grammar…which means it is really me.
We need to do this again….Afghanistan. As we are all prettymuch old shits…our cynicism is of some use, well earned use.
Everything we are taught, our kids are taught, makes us less human.
American are wonderful people….forcing our kids halfway around the world to fight regular folks is a bunch of shit.
The idea of sacrificing our kids so we old shits can be SAFE is a crock of shit.
Send us over to Afghanistan. Within a week, we would eat them out of house and home, run off with their wives and sell their cattle.
They would surrender just to get rid of us.
g
A very well written and informative article, Gordon, a very good read. Having seen on the History Channel about the Christmas episode between the German and British soldiers in The Great War and reading your article, it made me think back to the days of the Cold War and the commercial that was anti-war and, in my opinion, the way wars should be fought but their is too much bravado and cowardice on the part of most leaders of nations. I remember in the commercial that two big black limousines would pull up and the leaders of both the nations represented by the two cars would exit. Both men would then come together and would begin fisticuffs between each other to settle the dispute between their countries. I do not remember the ending but it was a commercial, probably put out by the anti-war movement during Vietnam, but it was a good one as far as I was concerned. I know it is nothing but a wishful fantasy on my part and would never happen, but I still think what a wonderful way to settle conflicts and leave the rest of us alone.
Joe,
Good to hear from you. Hope xmas is going well for you down in KY.
g
Excellent article Gordon. Every Christmas I think of a Christmas where we went out on patrol on Christmas eve and didn’t get back until 4 or so in the AM because of VC. There wasn’t anything left that what one might call a Christmas dinner but I had a C ration pound cake that to this day have every Christmas eve and am thankful I made it back. When I was in the Gulf we had it much, much better. God Bless our troops and hopefully peace someday will come..
Christmas eve Vietnam…ambush outside a village….
Christmas day…spent in the foothills outside DaNang looking for folks who wanted to light up Ann Margarets underwear.
g
When I was a kid I watched with wide eyes two of my older uncles talking about sharing Christmas somewhere in Europe in WWI, eating and drinking with the “enemy”… and what a good time they had. My Uncle Joe said he never could shoot straight again after that.
Then I grew up and had my own awful experiences. No glamour. I’ve struggled with Christmas ever since. It’s very depressing.
But don’t let me be a downer. Y’all (Texas talk) enjoy the hell out of it.
We should perhaps also remember a Scottish football tale from the Great War. In the days of trench warfare in the killing fields of France and Belgium it was ordinary blokes pointing rifles at ordinary blokes maybe only 100 yards away. The generals said they had to shoot each other but on Christmas Day 1914 the troops called a truce and played a game of football in ‘no man’s land’. Although they immediately spoiled the fitness regime by swopping chocolate and cigarettes, that is responding to a higher calling and provided the means for humane expression. Alfred Anderson who died in 2005 at 109 years old as Scotland’s oldest witness to that day described the silence as ‘eerie’. Kicking a football over to the ‘Gerries’ worked because you show generosity of spirit by risking them keeping your ball.
This is one reason why war is stupid. Gord, have you ever read the story of Fiske and Abe? They oughta make a movie of it.