The Western Front, 1914. French, German and British soldiers agree on a ceasefire leading up to Christmas. During this brief time, both sides find themselves in competition again, though this time their aim is not to go to war but for a time instead to play football and forget the horror for just a small amount of time.
In the years since the Great War, Britain has been a proud nation, displaying and wearing poppies to associate our thankfulness for those who sacrificed so much to assure we walk freely and safely every day.
'Lest We Forget'
Jump forward a century, November 2016, once again leading up to Christmas.
We still wear our poppies, remembering and thanking the men and women, our parents and grandparents for their horrific sacrifices. We walk freely, safely and happily in our everyday lives because of the hardships that they endured. We put on our poppy and instantly feel a sense of pride wash over us, we feel a sense of togetherness when we see other wearing them and for a short amount of time in the year we all remember and give our attention to those throughout history that have fought for us. We utter the Words "Lest We Forget" because it's really all we can do for them now.
Though, something has changed. The poppy is no longer a conversation starter about how proud we are of our ancestors and family serving.
It is now a point for political debate and now very rarely a positive one. With FIFA now set to ban England and Scotland players from wearing their poppies as they believe these are just a political statement, we now find ourselves thinking, if wearing a poppy to remember those we love and those who lost everything to protect us is a political statement, then we cannot think of a better one.
Putting a ban on the Poppy goes against everything this Kingdom used to stand for.This isn’t growth, equality nor is it political correctness an offensive statement; it is a cowardly perversion towards sacrifices made by so many so that we may live the lives we do.
FIFA may have forgotten but lest we do for those brave who gave their lives so we could live ours.