It is 100 years today since Britain (and by extension, the British Empire) entered the First World War - a war that cost millions of lives on both sides. Many of us will have ancestors who fought, and perhaps died, in WW1. On the eve of Britain's entry into WW1, 100 years ago, the Foreign Secretary, Sir Edward Grey said: "The lamps are going out all over Europe, we shall not see them lit again in our lifetime." With this in mind, people, businesses and organisations across the UK are being asked (if it's safe) to turn out the lights tonight for one hour between 10pm and 11pm in an act or remembrance/reflection. LIGHTS OUT - The Royal British Legion. What do you think about this? If you are in the UK, will you be switching out the lights? (If you live outside the UK, would you support a similar initiative in your country?). For me, I will support as far as I can (I may be driving some of the time). I'm no fan of war and I don't think it should be glorified, but this is something I support.
If the soldiers from ww1 hadn't sacrificed there life's for us in the UK the world could have been a different place. I think I will make a small gesture in tribute.
I will be turning all the lights in my house off at 10. 100 years since the start of a war that was supposed to be the end to all wars, we dont learn do we.
Tbh I think a better gesture would be to stop starting stupid wars in the middle east. The government pretends to be sorry about sending young men to die yet continues to do so.
I'm turning the lights out for the hour, we owe a lot to the men and women who fought for us and I would love to honour that by respecting the lights out tonight. Massive respect to them.
While I understand the sentiment behind the act, it seems a tad... underwhelming. Considering how devastating the First World War was, and how much was thrown at the soldiers -- all at once: machine guns, tanks, significant use of planes, landmines, deadly gases, and so on and so forth. Turning out the lights, seems like a way of hiding away, from the reality of what happened. I think a few moments of absolute silence is more fitting. No radio, no television, no cars. Just... absolute... total... quiet. I'm sure, after all that trench warfare, silence was the most beautiful noise the survivors had ever heard. It'd also give reference to All Quiet on the Western Front.
If you guys want to read an excellent history of this very month, 100 years ago, read Barbara Tuchman's The Guns of August. The Guns of August showed me how history could bring the past to life | Margaret MacMillan | Comment is free | The Guardian It is so enlightening to see the tragic mistakes, missed opportunities and the ongoing (to this day!) consequences of The Great War. I consider it more significant than WWII, which was essentially a continuation of the first (they not only started a tragic war, but screwed up the peace with the Treaty of Versailles, guaranteeing the next one). ---------- Post added 4th Aug 2014 at 02:54 PM ---------- Excellent point, much more should be made of this anniversary, this is history and, sadly, we don't do enough to remember how it happened and more importantly, how it could happen again...
If it were 10 pm here, I'd do the same. I didn't realize that it was the 100 year anniversary, and the gesture that it's asking for is minute anyway.
I'm in the US, but I'll kill the lights anyway. Though, it'll be 6PM here, so not many lights to kill.
I will do it .. three family relatives killed in that war. A moment of reflection - its not much to ask.
I personally don't subscribe to these sort of gestures (including the two minutes silence). I think there are better ways to remember the horrors of war and pay tributes to those who have died. Learning more about the events, visiting museums, watching documentaries, learning how these things could be prevented. I feel staying silent for a few minutes, or turning out the lights for an hour, or standing on one leg for a minute with the lights off, whatever is mandated, doesn't actually achieve much. Plus the fact I feel half the people typically do these things out of a feeling of sheer obligation and spend the minute thinking what they will have for tea or whats on telly later - which to me defeats the whole purpose! I wouldn't be surprised if most people with the lights out tonight will be sat in front of the glow of the television anyway - which begs the question what is the point? Maybe I'm just not one for symbolism.
Well said, 741852963. I use moments of silence to think properly, but I don't expect everyone else to. I do agree with you about, there being better ways, but those better ways require time, money, and an actual non-apathetic attitude. Unfortunately, you will be hard pressed to find anyone, in general, who, sadly, cares about this event. To most, it's just another boring page to be found in a history book. I think, if the sentiment is meaningful, it is fine, though. Not everyone is going to use it for reflection, of course. But, see, that's the thing. By not partaking, they are, in a way, paying tribute to those who served, by exercising a right. That said, I suppose not making a big deal out of it, and allowing everyone to do as they please, could be seen as a proper tribute. Of course, you talk like that on any pro-military holiday, and you get mean looks and possible death threats.
It seems a bit ritualistic to me. It's like those one-minute silences. While it's great to commemorate the anniversary of WWI, I'd rather contemplate it in my own time. It should never be a thing that we have to do, or worse, an inconvenience. Also, there have been 2 fatal stabbings in my town since March, so...
But if only half are wasting their time, that means the other half are spending it productively. Is that so bad? I don't think that most ignore it; every commemorative service I've been to has been subdued for a little while after the silence. I'll give them the credit of having genuine reflection; most people after a service like that don't have an immediate jump back into normal routine. I think most do think quite seriously about it, if only for the silence and a few minutes afterwards. But I do agree that it's not enough. I'd rather education were dealt with appropriately; you can't commemorate the dead for only one day and spend the rest of the year instilling propagandic, biased, nationalistic history into schools and the general adult public. I'm not sure about Britain, but in Australia, until high school, history tends to be propaganda with a touch of truth. If you're taught something when very young, you're going to believe it for quite a while, if not forever. Better to deal with a harsh truth with honesty than to lie about it and have to half-heartedly repair the ignorance misleading them caused.
I think thats the big problem I have with the minutes silence. The fact that you always hear "if I catch anyone not observing the minutes silence I'll smash their face in" or "I'll teach them some respect". So we have a ritual that is meant to be about celebrating the personal freedom and peace that those who have died helped to bring - that is a mandatory obligation enforced through violent sentiment...an oxymoron surely. You see similar with the poppy appeal, the fact that people who choose not to wear a poppy are absolutely demonised (particularly celebrities/newsreaders), and those who "dare" to wear a white poppy face even more hostility, intimidation and even violence. That is why I give to other charities now, I think the poppy situation has grown into a really negative culture and it is not something I want to encourage - no one should feel obligated to wear a poppy or face violence for choosing not to. A free and peaceful society - its what the servicemen fought for and what we should be aiming for.
