Corbyn may have been expressing his distaste for the way that "Remembrance" changed from being an expression of our deep desire never to kill so many of our young men ever again by sending them into battle, into a "Celebration of national spirit" (David Cameron) and glorification of war. It actually takes a lot of courage and grit to do what Corbyn did. To take a stand against orthodoxy. To care about reality, rather than fantasy, To suffer opprobrium from those who always conform.
Would you guess that more, or less, human suffering has been caused historically by dissent or by blind obedience to authority? Did you know that our WW1 memorials to the dead, in every village, were originally called "Peace Memorials"
This, below from some other "Trots/Anarchists" (Corbyn among them) from stopwar.org:
"Next year marks the 100th anniversary of the beginning of the first world war. Far from being a "war to end all wars" or a "victory for democracy", this was a military disaster and a human catastrophe.
We are disturbed, therefore, that David Cameron plans to spend £55m on a "truly national commemoration" to mark this anniversary. Mr Cameron quite inappropriately compared these events to the "diamond jubilee celebrations" and stated that their aim will be to stress our "national spirit". That they will be run at least in part by former generals and ex-defence secretaries reveals just how misconceived these plans are.
Instead we believe it is important to remember that this was a war that was driven by big powers' competition for influence around the globe, and caused a degree of suffering all too clear in the statistical record of 16 million people dead and 20 million wounded.
In 2014, we and others across the world will be organising cultural, political and educational activities to mark the courage of many involved in the war but also to remember the almost unimaginable devastation caused. In a time of international tension, we call on all those who agree with us to join us – by adding their names to ours at ww1.stopwar.org.uk – to ensure that this anniversary is used to promote peace and international co-operation.
Jude Law, Michael Morpurgo, Antony Gormley, Patrick Stewart, Carol Ann Duffy, Vanessa Redgrave, Simon Callow, Brian Eno, Lindsey German, Jeremy Corbyn MP, Tony Benn, Timothy West, Dominic Cooke, AL Kennedy, Janie Dee, Neil Faulkner, Heathcote Williams, Dame Harriet Walter, Tim Pigott-Smith, Roger Lloyd Pack, Alan Rickman, Ken Loach, Ralph Steadman, Ken Livingstone, Rob Montgomery, Duncan Heining, Chris Nineham, Kate Hudson, Jan Woolf, Peter Kennard, Andy de la Tour, Evan Parker, Robert Wyatt, Colin Towns, Chris Searle, Neil Yates, Steve Berry, Leo Aylen, Danny Thompson, Terry Jones, Kika Markham, Susan Wooldridge, Tony Haynes, Mike Dibb, Nic France, Leon Rosselson, Barry Miles, Liane Aukin, Alistair Beaton"
