I watched most of the Memorial Service held this morning in Paris in memory of those slain by the insanity of a fortnight ago. My rusty schoolboy French was not competent enough to follow all that was being said…and sung. It was a pity therefore that neither Sky nor the BBC thought fit to have a translation on the bottom of the screen, rather than repetitious “news” re Andy Murray and the Davis Cup. No matter, the service was particularly moving I felt and the songs, ‘though not fully understood, were clearly highly emotive and appropriate.
The singing alone highlighted the message of Andrew Neil’s outburst of loathing of a week or so back, aimed at those who committed this atrocity, or “scumbags” as he called them. How can we allow these distortions of human kind to triumph? We simply cannot; they simply must be removed, but that is not simply a bombing mission. It has to be a winning of hearts and minds, and that will take significantly longer. If our civilisation is worth defending and preserving it has to do so by proving the quality and relevance over other competing influences. so what is it we are seeking to defend? Surely, compassion, tolerance, mutual respect and understanding, equality of opportunity, freedom in all it’s forms…..a brief, back of the cuff list. We should ask ourselves if we think we do actually have those qualities, both as a nation and as individuals? In looking at others, let’s make sure we look at ourselves and take the opportunity to perhaps reassess.