I have never been a fan of the glorification of war, as in America is feels so very common to turn war into this amazing thing. The troops are heroes, we are harbingers of peace, our massive military budget that takes up the largest amount of our government spending is certainly justified, in fact it’s fine to add hundreds of billions more to it. In America, most don’t blink an eye to praise war. That is partially why I was worried at first to go to the National War Museum. I was expecting more of the same. I was happy when I learned that this museum had a very different take on war. Instead it uses the past to act as a warning. Though while the wartime imagery got a bit much sometimes, its purpose was obvious, to educate and prevent.
Some of the exhibits of the museum felt all too familiar though. The government propaganda, the first signs of genocide, those hit a bit too close to home. My country has been at war most of my life. Since 2001 we have been in Afghanistan, so I don’t really remember a time when we haven’t been at war. We as a country have grown so accustomed to war, almost everything it creates is justified, and if you don’t believe so you unpatriotic, you are spitting in the face of veterans and their families.
A war that happens across an ocean feels so far away, but walking through this museum made it feel much closer. I can only hope that there will be a time in the future where we will no longer be at war, where it is not fetishised to an absurd degree. Until then I will focus on the home-front, as there is a lot of work needed to be done there as well.
“Image of Imperial War Museum.” IWM, www.iwm.org.uk/visits/iwm-london.
(Flower Photo by me)