Language in war is very important! I am always amazed how one side in a conflict can fall into the trap of motivating their enemy with foolish words. In World War II, when the British and Australian forces were besieged in Tobruk, Hitler’s apologist, William Joyce, also known as Lord Haw Haw, taunted the Garrison on the radio by asking: “When are you going to come out of your holes, you rats of Tobruk?” With this trite comment, he gave the disparate groups a sense of shared identity and stiffened their resolve, ensuring they forgot about their fleas and lice, diarrhoea and constipation. Not only did the Desert Rats become a legendary army, but the defenders of Tobruk withstood a greater number of air attacks than London during the Blitz and also inflicted the first defeat on the previously invincible German Blitzkrieg.
At the opposite end of the telescope, there are many wise sages who offer sensible advice to politicians. One whose work was used in London after 9/11 was the 19th century Danish philosopher, Soren Kierkegaard, who wrote: “The tyrant dies and his rule is over, the martyr dies and his rule begins.” The question in March 2026 is have we removed a tyrant, or created a million martyrs?
Rupert Wieloch 