World War Myths

Breaking bread.

I see this narrative as a child's attempt at social bonding with an unfriendly, self-centered crowd in the context of Remembrance Day. Loss, not gain in terms of medals, honours, etc., is the true legacy of industrial war. It does not build nations. It destroys them.

I wish the story had done more to move away from the World War propaganda industry that perpetuates industrial warfare around the globe, robbing more and more people of their rights, freedoms, and sense of belonging to planet earth and the life-sustaining resources it provides us.

Farmers are better nation builders than soldiers. This storybook Muhammad's ancestors were farmers before they were forced to become foot soldiers for colonial powers. The roti recipe, though unconventional, is a nice symbol of persistence and survival. One thinks of the families in Gaza. Indeed, food traditions last centuries whereas war traditions and ornaments have a limited lifespan. It's not desirable to pass a love of war to one's children, and militaristic societies breed corruption and destruction, not freedom.

One of the immediate realizations of WWI soldiers was that industrial battles defile and impoverish humanity and dishonour the bravery of soldiers by treating them as cannon fodder, not men. In WWII, the arena of industrial warfare expanded to include civilians as fodder. Now, with WWIII seemingly underway, children in their beds are the food of the war machine. What have we learned in all these years of remembering? Absolutely nothing.

Sure, let’s break bread, but there’s no need to wash it down with propaganda.

Thanks, Netgalley, for the advanced reading copy.