A common sight among Britons in early November?

A representation of a red poppy flower, worn on the left lapel.

The red poppy is the symbol of Remembrance Day, November 11.

That date is called Veterans Day, in the U.S., and is a bit broader in its goals, honoring everyone who served in the country’s armed forces. Remembrance Day is focused on those who died.

Perhaps the biggest difference between the British/Commonwealth holiday, today, and the U.S. version is that the former seems to have become freighted with social obligation, and the red poppy is the visual expression of it.

And the “remembrance” on the day, some feel, seems to be tilting towards “the First World War was a British obligation” … and that “all died in a just cause” when a very strong case can be made that Britain did not have to join that war, and shouldn’t have.

So, red poppies. Everywhere. (One example: Every “presenter” on the BBC wears a red poppy seemingly for a week ahead of Remebrance Day. Without exception.)

It seems to be a required accessory. Which has led to some backlash, especially from anti-war groups.

The Stop the War Coalition has posted a piece entitled: Ten lies we’re told to justify the slaughter of 20 million in the First World War.

The activists, whose rhetoric often is unfortunately reminiscent of Communist Party cant (ruling classes, workers, etc.), makes several fair points. About Imperial Germany and what sort of threat it posed to democracy. Whether Germany bore full blame for the war. Whether German imperialism was worse than that practiced by other European powers. And so on.

Just a couple of months ago, I wrote about whether the First World War needed to be as big as it was, focusing on Belgium and Britain, and why they had to fight. (They didn’t.) Pretty much all their entry into the war accomplished was to increase the chance it would be a long war (four-plus years, it turned out) with many more dead and pretty much all of Europe close to bankrupt.

Let’s get back to the red poppy. The flower was known to grow even on the blasted fields of the Western Front, and became a symbol of dead soldiery in Britain which had upwards of 900,000 war dead.

Which is fine. Good. But the red poppy seems to be becoming the “American flag lapel” of Britain. Except worse.

Only American politicians are expected to wear a flag label in all public settings. However, just about any prominent Briton is expected to wear the red poppy.

For instance … James McClean, a native of Northern Ireland (part of Britain) but now a citicizen of Ireland (not part of Britain), felt compelled to write a letter of explanation as to why he appeared without a red poppy on his jersey while playing for Wigan, against Bolton, a match-up of English soccer clubs. He had been getting criticized for not wearing the red flower.

Also, a British writer suggested, in a story printed by the antiwar site, that the red poppy has become a litmus test. “It is increasingly clear that the poppy campaign is not just about remembrance,” Lindsey German wrote. “That is obvious in the response to those of us who choose not to wear the poppy. I have been called a traitor, a disgrace, as well as other less printable remarks for writing an article supporting the wearing of a white peace poppy.”

Some wars are necessary. Many aspects of the Second World War fall into that category. The trouble is, the Just War isn’t always immediately obvious.

And the notion that humans will give up war … is a laudable idea, if unlikely (and not intrinsically tied to capitalism/imperialism).

Still, those who believe in a world without war should be able to state their case. And they should not be pilloried for declining to join in on a celebration that seems to suggest a particularly horrible war … was a good idea.

And, stateside, we ought to be able to play a game of baseball without the national anthem. Most of the world manages without it.