Jonathon Bartley the director of ekklesia has thrown this into the arena;
"The Christian tradition, and specifically the crucifix, have a great deal in common with the poppy. Both are linked to sacrifice. Both take a location of bloodshed and violence and make a statement
about it. And both attempt to give us hope in the face of death. They imp
ly that those who died did not do so in vain", Bartley writes. "But whilst apparently banned from wearing one symbol of hope (the cross), public figures in Britain are simultaneously urged, indeed in many cases, required, to wear another (the red poppy) – almost as an article of faith. There is a political correctness about the red poppy, which often goes unnoticed. "But there is a crucial difference between the red poppy and the crucifix. Whilst the red poppy implies redemption can come through war, the Christian story implies that redemption comes through nonviolent sacrifice. The white poppy is much more Christian, in that respect, than the red variety.Has he got a point? I have to own up and say I've never seen wearing a red poppy as having much to do with redemption - it's more of a reminder to me - but maybe he's right in that there is a sense that NOT to wear a poppy is seen as somehow very un pc. As for a white poppy being more Christian....hmmm...
5 comments:
Interesting thoughts on the poppy. I always feel that a red poppy should be worn with the white. Let's remember the sacrifice of those who died in wars and conflicts and then remember it is always better to look for a peaceful solution.
I don't see wearing the red poppy as being about redemption. Though I do think it is about sacrifice - very necessary in the case of the Second World War, but perhaps not so necessary in the current Iraq War, the Falklands War, Suez, and WWI. I buy a red poppy to help - in a very small way - military personnel who have been maimed by war, well at least thats what I believe I'm doing.
The white poppy is often seen as a pacifist symbol. I don't think one has to be a pacifist to buy one or wear one! The white poppy is a symbol of remembrance for all victims of war. As a follower of the Prince of Peace I believe "we" are called to be peacemakers and so I understand the white poppy represents a mind set that says difficult situations should be sorted out through compromise and negotiation and that war should be the very last resort.
I don't recognise the red poppy as being anything to do with redemption nor with the idea that war is itself redemptive. I suppose the white poppy is worn in part to distance the wearer from the glorification of war that they may feel goes on in the whole remembrance thing. I wear a red poppy simply to remember the slaughter and inanity of war and in some way help the casualties. Gouty.
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