The sight of a parliament, normally embroiled in savage personal attacks, speaking as one and showing a remarkable unity of purpose, ought to be one that should cheer our hearts and restore our faith in politicians. Strangely it has the opposite effect. When sworn enemies suddenly become friends and join in a common cause it is often more worrying and seldom for the good. I cannot ignore the deep suspicion of this temporary marriage of convenience and I wonder who is the common foe. It reminds me of the second Psalm where the Kings of the earth gather together in their futile and laughable attempt to plot against God. In Westminster there was the unity at the start of the first and second wars in Iraq and there was the unity over Covid. History has shown where these have led.
So I took no comfort from the concocted harmony on display in the palace of Westminster this week, when the Prime Minister gave his report on the momentous events of the past days. I didn’t feel proud to be British then. What was on open display was a commitment to support with cash and lives (boots on the ground is a nice way of talking about real people who will be wearing these boots) the continuation of a war that has been going on for three years and shows no sign of stopping. I wanted to hear from the Peace Movement from Stop the War Coalition from the Anti-Nuclear campaigners, but in Westminster there was silence. And here is one of the biggest conundrums: our money, our taxes are paying for the terrible weapons that maim and kill thousands every week on our doorstep and we seem to be ok with that. This is not theoretical. This is not about weapons of mass destruction that have killed no-one for the past 80 years, this is about weapons manufactured in our land, today, that are being sent to blow up young men and women in a land not that far away from us and our politicians seem to be all for it.
It is hard to get your head round that one.
They are united in their condemnation of the one person, the one world leader who is screaming for peace. He is desperate to bring the terrible carnage to an end. He is using the massive power and influence of his office and his own skill in making deals for that purpose and our pathetic little parliament doesn’t like it. They want this war to go on, when it as plain as day that it cannot be won, unless, of course, it finally triggers the third world war when these weapons held in their silos for 80 years will finally be unleashed.
So now as I’m leavin’
I’m weary as Hell
The confusion I’m feelin’
Ain’t no tongue can tell
The words fill my head
And they fall to the floor
That if God’s on our side
He’ll stop the next war
Restless Spirit 
Really good post. I’m generally in agreement. My only point of contention is that I think the US President should be firm but far more diplomatic. I’ve very much gone off him recent months.
Mmm, don’t accept the peace movement was silent. Below is something I wrote in March 2023. Accept that Trump is the first leader on the western side to call for an end to it when the previous administration seemed happy with an ongoing proxy war. However the idea that he is “screaming for peace” is far-fetched in the extreme since under him the US has continued to arm the Israelis in the Gaza conflict. So I think when it comes to Trump you are cherry-picking! Anyway what I wrote: The Ukraine war drags on. This is not the mere passage of time – it is the death and mayhem each day brings plus the risk of spread and escalation, which could mean nuclear ruin or a fatal delay in the global effort to check climate collapse. We call on the leaders of the major world powers to put their backs into promoting negotiations for a cease-fire and for peace. We call on our political leaders in Scotland to set an example and take a clear stance for peaceful resolution, and we call on peace-loving people everywhere to do whatever they can to push the currently unfashionable peace agenda into public discussion.
As well as the loss of life, the trauma, deprivation and the massive civil disruption, the war is having a very bad effect on our discourse and attitudes, replacing a wish for a just accountability with a mere lust for revenge and enhancing old and poisonous national stereotypes.
In a pattern similar to the formation of the two major power blocs in the lead-up to WW1, European states with a long tradition of neutrality or non-alignment (however ambivalent or compromised) are now unequivocally taking sides. Following the NATO-ward move by Finland and Sweden, Switzerland is now under internal and external pressure to co-operate more closely with the Alliance. Given the horrific invasion of Ukraine this is no surprise, but hardening into power blocs does make a dangerous situation even more perilous. In the case of WW1 the strong chain of alliances meant that a regional conflict became general, with hideous consequences.
Nit picking, I know, but I didn’t say that the peace movement was silent. It was just I didn’t hear anything and I usally do. I didn’t see any protests on the streets. And in my piece, I was,speaking specifically about Westminster. Those who were consistently calling for peace elsewhere were strangely silent on this, and I wondered and still wonder why. The only person, I heard speak out and call for peace was Jermemy Corbyn.
Fair enough – SNP noticeably poor on this.
Get your point about cherry-picking. I am aware of that. But if somone is doing something that you believe to be right, even if you think everythign else they do is bad, surely you would want to encourage that? And if, as you describe, what is on the table is an unfashionabel peace agenda, is it unfashionable because it’s Trump? If it was Obama or Bidet would it still be unfashionable?
In my corner it was unfashionable during Biden and with quite a slice of the “left” in Scotland. And yes, that good George MacDonald quote: “Truth is truth, whether from the lips of Jesus and Balaam.” Trump was the first western leader to talk about stopping it. However he seems to be in the process of turning the US into a mafia state, like Russia. So I think he is very dangerous.