Wellhiem Loc: Sunny England.

I give money to Help for Heroes. I support our injured soldiers, who have come home from overseas conflicts. But one of the sound bites of the poppy appeal, is "lest we forget". This to me means, we should never let this happen again. We haven't learnt a bloody thing. That is why, despite being stopped in the street and being verbally abused for not wearing one, I refuse to wear a poppy.

GeorgeH Loc: Jonesboro, GA

Those who abuse you should read the poetry of Wilfred Owen. For those on the Hogg who don't know of him, he was an British officer who was k**led just days before the Armistice ending the European War was signed.

Here is a sample of his work:

Dulce et Decorum Est

Bent double, like old beggars under sacks,
Knock-kneed, coughing like hags, we cursed through sludge,
Till on the haunting flares we turned our backs,
And towards our distant rest began to trudge.
Men marched asleep. Many had lost their boots,
But limped on, blood-shod. All went lame; all blind;
Drunk with fatigue; deaf even to the hoots
Of gas-shells dropping softly behind.

Gas! GAS! Quick, boys!—An ecstasy of fumbling
Fitting the clumsy helmets just in time,
But someone still was yelling out and stumbling
And flound’ring like a man in fire or lime.—
Dim through the misty panes and thick green light,
As under a green sea, I saw him drowning.

In all my dreams before my helpless sight,
He plunges at me, guttering, choking, drowning.

If in some smothering dreams, you too could pace
Behind the wagon that we flung him in,
And watch the white eyes writhing in his face,
His h*****g face, like a devil’s s**k of sin;
If you could hear, at every jolt, the blood
Come gargling from the froth-corrupted lungs,
Obscene as cancer, bitter as the cud
Of vile, incurable sores on innocent tongues,—
My friend, you would not tell with such high zest
To children ardent for some desperate glory,
The old Lie: Dulce et decorum est
Pro patria mori.

For those who's Latin is as rusty as mine, here's The old Lie:

Dulce et decorum est pro patria mori is a line from the Roman lyrical poet Horace's Odes (III.2.13). The line can be roughly t***slated into English as: "It is sweet and glorious to die for one's country."

Wellhiem Loc: Sunny England.

To me, the term "lest we forget", means we don't let this happen again. I repeat, we have learnt nothing.

soba1 Loc: Somewhere In So Ca

Well when I see our young wounded. I ask why and for what. They are off fighting for what? For some hidden agenda that only benefits a few. It's time we end senseless wars. We really have no clear cut enemy. Take Syria, I ask myself why..............
I may be rambling but in my ramble I hope there is sense somewhere.
To me security begins at home. Yes lest we forget.

Wellhiem Loc: Sunny England.

Totally agree with you. We went into that whole middle east conflict, with no clear cut idea of what we wanted to achieve or what we were going to do when it was over.

Bangee5 Loc: Louisiana

Hitler took over must of Europe before we got involve, which we did not want to do until we were attacked. Germany, Italy and Japan conspired to take over the world while we sat back and watched. It was not our problem.

Do you see what is going on in the Mid-East. Are you watching... least we forget.

Opus Loc: South East Michigan

Good point, ISIS makes Hitler look like the Easter Bunny and if it is not stopped at some point they will take the fight to Europe and beyond. For those who think wars are fought for no reason and you can always just stay out of the fight remember those fateful words spoken on 9/30/38, "I have returned from Germany with peace for our time."

Bangee5 Loc: Louisiana

"I have returned from Germany with peace for our time."

How did that work out for England?

Wellhiem Loc: Sunny England.

Where do you think ISIS got their weapons from?

Bangee5 Loc: Louisiana

A lot of their weapons came from but not directly from the United States. I have to admit that they got some darn good weapons dropped and left behind by the Iraq army.

Wellhiem Loc: Sunny England.

The UK aren't blameless. Like I said, we've learnt nothing.

letmedance Loc: Walnut, Ca.

Another bit of poetry from the battle field.

John McCrae, May 1915

In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.

Singing Swan

My father used to recite this poem for me when I was a child. I don't wear the poppies either.

FrumCA

I can't find any source reference for the "lest we forget" sound bite (it's probably out there in internet-land somewhere) but I choose to wear a poppy simply for it's original intent: to commemorate military personnel who have died in war.

idaholover Loc: Nampa ID

This sounds a lot like the woman who staged her own rape!