I shall be wearing the red poppy to support the work of the British Legion as it seeks to care for ex-service men and women. I shall join in the remembrance of all those who have given their lives in war. Those brave men and women who have chosen to join the armed forces of the world and who have died believing that what they are doing is for the greater peace. I shall also be remembering those innocent civilians who have lost their lives because they were in the wrong place at the wrong time.

 

In addition I will be wearing a white poppy to support the work of the Peace Pledge Union, which works to bring about the complete cessation of war and to bring about peace and reconciliation in the world community.

 

As a Christian, and a pacifist, I would love war to cease right away. It is a tragedy that we continue to think that war will bring about peace. I am of the belief that violence breeds violence and that the only way to bring about a lasting peace is to reject all war and all preparation for war. When we look at Iraq and Afghanistan then we can begin to understand that we may well have stirred up a hornet’s nest and that consequently the world has become a more dangerous and violent place. At some point the vicious circle of violence needs to be broken by choosing peace as the solution.

 

Human beings are creatures given choice and the sooner we choose peaceful ways the better. I want to persuade the world to give up all war by 11/11/2018. This is exactly 100 years after the Armistice, which ended the First World War. This was the war to end all wars and what better way to honour all those who have died in war than to bring about the end of all war.

 

Will you join a campaign to end all war by 11/11/2018? Eight years away may seem a very short time scale to end all war, when human beings have been fighting one another for thousands of years. Perhaps will still have war in eight years time, but there does not seem to be a good reason why we shouldn’t at least discuss it and try to join together to bring an end to all war as soon as we possibly can. If you are fed up with war and violence, then why not join those campaigning to end all war?

 

I am calling this campaign 11/11 and offering it as a possible solution to 9/11. You can’t make peace with a terrorist by using violence as it only creates more hatred and misunderstanding. The only way to get even with a terrorist is by understanding what makes them a terrorist and by seeking to make them your friends. We have done this with the IRA and in the end we have to sit down and talk to Al-Qaeda. Some believe this process is already going on. I believe this is a hopeful sign.

 

If you are interested in joining Campaign 11/11 to end all war by 11/11/2018 then please e-mail me at philipyoung@btinternet.com or go to the St. Thomas’ Heigham website at www.stthomasheigham.org

 

In the coming months I am hoping to create a new website dedicated to Campaign 11/11. Let me know if you wish to be informed of its launch date.