A Handful of dust

As of March 2011, the UK was estimated to have spent approximately 9.2 billion pounds on its involvement in the Iraq war. Up until now, no legitimate reason has ever been justified for our involvement and yet as recently as yesterday, Tony Blair was still insisting he had no alternative. We now know that there were no weapons of mass destruction. There is oil though. Up until now, the UK has spent 18 billion pounds on the war in Afghanistan and is now resigned to leaving having effected no change to that country as universally predicted by everybody with a modicum of common sense. George Osborne today delivered his budget in which annual borrowing was predicted to remain at about 121 billion pounds.

Next year will mark the centenary of an event which took place in Sarajevo in Serbia. The assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand II and his wife by Gavrilo Princip, a nationalist in favour of a separate Yugoslavia, was to have consequences which would exert a monstrous effect on the whole of Europe and far beyond. It is widely agreed that human life has seldom been wasted on such an obscene scale. Every year, Armistice Day is observed to remember those who fell in the war which would never be repeated. History, it seems, is often read but seldom learned from.

As I write, it is widely predicted that the UK will shortly become involved in the conflict in Syria where thousands die by the day at the behest of yet another despotic dictator. Iraq is now far from being a safe country which brings into question the legitimacy of our involvement. The new Pope is on record as saying that the Falkland Islands ought to be returned to Argentine sovereignty so I wonder how long it will be before we return to flex our jingoistic muscles in the South Atlantic?

I saw today that yet another Public Service (surely one of the greatest oxymorons of all time?) has decided to stage a one day strike in protest against pay, pensions and working conditions. Note the order there. Pay first, pension second and working conditions third. It is little wonder that public finances are in such an absolute mess when public service has become anything but. If the estimated 2.5 million unemployed in this country went on strike tomorrow, I wonder what they would be protesting about? No food? Fuel poverty? No hope? No job? Its a job to know where to start really.

Doubtless, we will all make a big thing of remembering the Great War on the centenary of its beginning next year. But I wonder how many of those killed would feel if they could see the Mother country now? Perhaps we could strive to give them something to reflect the sacrifice they made for us. Maybe we could all start to make do with a little less and be grateful for the important things. Maybe we could refrain from being involved in any more war. Maybe.