Mansour Ali wrote:
You seem remarkably quick to draw everything on to an emotive level.
When you examine those various conflicts critically it all seems ridiculous however. It just seems to me like excessive national pride - a sort of cultural narcissism without any sort of rational thought. It wasnt a just cause and the behaviour of the British during those conflicts especially in its colonies was indefensible.
Look at the state Britain is in now, even regardless of the recession, in its dreadful shape compared with a lot of asian countries.
The examination of these various conflicts critically is the luxury of the historian, and historians tend to be revisionist anyway especially if they want to match Kershaws book sales, or Beevor.
Each and every conflict when examined critically,dispassionately etc can be made to seem ridiculous. ANY conflict or argument can be made to seem ridiculous including the ones on these boards.
However, when examining these various conflicts with a finger on the emotive pulse it becomes less cut and dried, rather like real life.
You mention national pride, two of my fathers brothers died in the colonies as you describe them. Thing is national pride doesn't come into it for them. they left De Valera's Ireland for work in 1937 and came to the UK, the army offered them food and board and ironicaly ( for them ) the Kings shilling.
long story short; they died of berry-berry on the Burma railroad, their deaths weren't unique, their graves are well looked after buy the Royal British Legion.
At various times over the years members of my family have made the trip to the graves, we know their history and stories. The younger of the two, William followed his brother everywhere, literally to the end.
Now my point is..
I view this on an emotive level, I know the printed history, I know the various versions of the history, but at the end of the day they were uncles I never met.
On this level it's my loss, not yours. but on an emotional level, you could never second guess what I think, as for the state of Britain now; well that too is an emotive subject.
One that historians will look back on with an all too clinical eye