Post #2479488
2026-05-04 01:43 UTC
I just finished 1916 by Keith Jeffery. It's an interesting read, good not great, but props for highlighting the participation of Africans, Asians, women, and other groups not typically discussed in the wider context of World War I.
Jeffery spent a lot of time discussing commemoration and remembrance, and one line toward the end really stuck with me... 1/2
Replies (1)
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@mackensen@higheredweb.social 2026-05-04 01:45
While war itself remains as a possible policy option for modern states, no commemoration of past wars can be entirely pacific. Beneath the wholly admirable expressions of reconciliation and peaceful coexistence which almost invariably (and rightly) now accompany war commemoration, so long as states continue to possess armed forces and are evidently prepared to use them, there will always be some still, small voice reminding us that on occasion, for some communities and for some states, war works