Mothers will cry...

The Shrine of Remembrance in Melbourne, Australia, is an imposing mausoleum, erected after the “war to end all wars”, WWI. It was built to have a soul, designed like a Greek temple; democracy is thought to have begun in Greece. It was built to be everlasting, eternal. Two of the three architects were returned soldiers. It was built in the belief that there would be no more war.

On the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month, Armistice Day, a ray of light passes through an opening and strikes the word “Love” on an inscription. The marble plaque, placed where it must be viewed with heads bowed, and where no hand may touch it, reads “Greater love hath no man than this”.

The imposing monument was built as a tribute to sacrifice for peace. That peace lasted only 21 years.

I stood amongst the wreaths and remembrance poppies looking at a statue of fathers and sons by Raymond Ewers. It was erected after WWII. I was told that it was erected by the women of Victoria, the mothers, the daughters. I cried.

I am a mother, and the daughter of a veteran soldier. I am not ashamed of my tears. Every soldier has a mother.

Does a culture of peace start in the home?

Read a veteran soldier's comments on a woman's tears

The second thing I learnt

Culture of peace is also giving place to other's thinking and opinion. As a matter of fact only from a different opinion we can recognize the mistakes of our thinking.
On Los Angeles Times, March 9th, 2008, I found this very interesting article.

All wars have to be sold, but World War II, within the memory of the pointless carnage that then became known as World War I, was a particularly hard sell. Roosevelt and Churchill did it well, and their lies have been with us ever since.

Nicholson Baker's "Human Smoke" is a meticulously researched and well-constructed book demonstrating that World War II was one of the biggest, most carefully plotted lies in modern history. According to the myth, British and American statesmen naively thought they could reason with such brutal fascists as Germany's Hitler and Japan's Tojo. Faced with this weakness, Hitler and Tojo tried to take over the world, and the United States and Britain were forced to use military might to stop them...

Read the whole article on Los Angeles Times.