Truce - Interlude 2312
I read a story on the BBC yesterday morning, about the famous Christmas Truce of 1914. We all know the tale: how on Christmas Eve German soldiers were singing carols; how their British counterparts joined in; how the horrors of the battlefront dissipated for a few hours or days; how men, briefly, came to be men again.
But I never understood why such a profoundly stirring event hadn't set a precedent, if only in recognition of its value and of our shared humanity. Here's why:
“Nothing like this truce would happen again during World War One. Military leaders, who had been caught by surprise by the ceasefires and the unexpected camaraderie that flourished during them, feared they would erode their troops’ willingness to fight, and would undermine the war effort.
... The following Christmas, machine gun barrages were deliberately timed to drown out any sound of carol singing to prevent spontaneous truces happening again.”
Leaders fail us.
On this eve of eve, 111 years after a simple song brought soldiers together as fathers and sons and brothers in the midst of The War to End all Wars, it's good to remember there's no such thing as The Other. Divisions are levers of power, a trick and a trap. We’re the same. All of us.
A few pics below from our soon-to-be-filled home.
I wish you all the very best of Holidays 🎅🍻
See you in 2026 :)
