Militarism takes centre stage in Yorkshire
A Quakers in Yorkshire event considered militarism
‘The New Militarism’, a Quakers in Yorkshire event, took place at Huddersfield Meeting House on Saturday 16 April.
The programme included a performance of Over the Top by Journeymen Theatre. The play was commissioned in response to the increasing influence of military values in everyday life.
Ann Bettys, of Huddersfield Meeting, described the performance as ‘impressive and inspiring’.
She said: ‘It managed to include a whole raft of issues around the subliminal creep of militarisation in our schools and elsewhere. When material is presented in the form of a drama in front of your eyes, when we are involved in the story, sharing the emotions of the characters, it is a much more immediate and instinctive response.’
Speakers included Isabel Cartwright, Quaker Peace & Social Witness (QPSW) peace education programme manager; Sam Walton, QPSW peace and disarmament programme manager; and John Bourton, of Veterans for Peace (VfP).
Reflecting on the event, Ann told the Friend: ‘We need to match the government’s slick propaganda machine and present the alternative to militarism.’
Eight of the eighty attenders were young people.
