Today was the sixty second anniversary of the liberation of Denmark by the Allied forces (more specifically by Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery). Apart from some flowers by the war memorial on Europa plads, I saw no indication that this event has any relevance at all in todays Danish society. The difference between Liberation Day and May 1st was pretty obvious. Whilst the war has faded from people's minds, the old twentieth century idea of class struggle is still seen as relevent to a great many people. I'm not sure what this means, if anything.
5th May 2007
I cycled out to Moesgaard expecting it to be full of people on such a fine day but was astounded to find the beach almost deserted. Only one family were brave enough to face the sea, which had to be really cold and I sat and watched a guy with a kite do some pretty impressive aerobatics. The weather was beautiful today and the forest was radiant. The sea was dotted with white sails and I listened to the album Yes produced incognito as I cycled.
Mette is in Copenhagen all weekend visiting her friend Camille and little Freja has spent the week end with her maternal grand parents (today they visited the zoo). Its been the first time she's ever slept away from either of us and apparently gone very well. I spoke with my mother in law over the phone and I could hear Freja chuckling and laughing in the back ground. I wa happy to hear things went well, but also a little jealous too. Every one returns tomorrow and I shall show some idea's I've had for decorating the bedroom with cute animals for Freja's entertainment to Mette.
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3 comments:
History no longer matters except when the media take it up - or so it seems to me. I've been running a twenty five anniversary of the Falklands War on my blog but the media haven't even shown any interest apart from two excerts on the BBC.
My kids hadn't even heard of the conflict until I told them about it.
It seems so, and yet book sellers claim they are selling more books about history today than ever before. Perhaps whats changed is the sense of nationality? Perhaps the new generation just see's things in a different light, I don't know. Do old wars define who we are? I don't think so. There is more to histry than that, but on the other hand, war is also a lesson in humanity that serves a purpose and to ignore it or treat it with disdain is to lose sight of what that lesson might teach us.
Dunno, but what I DO know is that it is not the socialist class struggle that draws people out on the 1st of May, it is drinking and a day off work. Most people do not even know what it is all about. DR did some random interviews with random questions such as "What significance does the 1st of May, the celebration of BOURGOIS values have for you", "What significance does the 1st May celebration of the right wing government have to you", etc. Only one out of ten actually caught the mistake. The rest just said "not much", "nothing" or the like.
No class struggle left. The left wing today are misinformed and malcontent youth and the like, the Ungdomshus troublemaker gang the worst of them.
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