Lawrence of Arabia knew nothing good would come of it
IT WAS implied by David Walker (Echo letters, October 11) that a certain political thinker in the aftermath of the First World War, it was possible to create a unified Europe without future wars.
Would we really have a war to end all wars?
The European community could and would create some sort of paradise.
As any fool does know the 1919 political agreements led, ultimately, to the rise of Hitler.
There is often confusion between dreams and vision. To dream is very reliant on fantasy; to be a visionary draws upon current facts upon which conclusions are drawn.
If one seeks true examples of visionaries in the last century, T E Lawrence and H G Wells fit the bill.
Lawrence clearly understood the consequence of a gathering of politicians drawing lines to create nations in the Middle East would lead to resentment on a grand scale.
H G Wells saw how technology would lead to disaster world-wide when he wrote “The Shape of Things to Come”. the future apocalypse would see the result of human greed and interference with the balance leading to a non-reversible cesspit.
As for war in Europe and the creation of the EU making citizens peaceable.
Exactly what were the “Troubles” in Northern Ireland if not war?
Rest assured the Ministry of Defence does not issue general ser- vice medals simply to brighten up military uniforms or for getting out of the bed every morning. It ought to be borne in mind that NATO played a major part in keeping peace in Europe through policy of containment. My vision of Europe does not involve contributions to 12 billion annual funding of lavish pensions and salaries for those involved in the waddling duckling which is the EU. How long will it be before this pan-European fiasco comes to an end? What we need is a reliable visionary to take us forward, not some remoaning soothsayer. David Girdler Loughborough