Kisses on a Postcard and the Trauma of War
The moral case for knowing what war does to those left behind.
War is a horrible thing.
It destroys things wherever it happens. It destroys buildings and roads and so many other things in its path. The worst thing it destroys however is the lives of people who are involved. The soldiers who go headlong into battle where they risk their very lives in the pursuit of the end goal. Namely the end of the war one way or another. Most people don't come back from war. They give up their lives for it. So many of the ones who do come back are changed forever after having seen so much destruction and the people around them die. Some come back with life long injuries that can never be healed. Missing an arm or a leg or some part of themselves they will never get back. All in the pursuit of an end to war.
However, these soldiers are not the only victims of war. Horrific and destructive as it might be, you also have those who are left behind as a result of war. People who live waiting for word about their family members that have chosen to go off and fight. There's a trauma and suffering with that as well. Knowing that at any moment you could learn that someone you love might never be coming back or if they do, they come back completely different than the person you knew before. Having to live with this fear is itself a kind of trauma people can suffer through. It's not nearly as terrible as facing bombs and gun fire and whatever else you might experience, but horrible in its own way.
War destroys everyone when it comes right down to it. Yet those left behind still have to get on with the business of living. They still have to go to work and fall in love and do all the things that people have to do. Children still have to be educated. They still have to be taken care of and grow up even while people somewhere far away are giving their lives and destroying other people's lives in order to allow those at home to do the things they're doing. Being able to live with that isn't any fun either, though for children at least it's a good idea to try and make their experiences something that looks like fun. Some of them may have war visited upon them even if they aren't on the battlefield themselves. Others might grow up to become soldiers themselves.
Kisses on a Postcard is all about the trauma of those left behind by war. Terry and Jack are two little kids who are sent away from the city of London to live in the countryside, hopefully far away from the horrors World War 2. They find themselves in the city of Cornwall where they don't really know anyone but are joined by many children who are facing the same uncertainty. It gives them something of a common bond over their shared trauma, but also makes them angry and afraid at times. Some of which leads them to make terrible decisions that impact the lives around them and show them who they are.
It's a sad state of affairs but one very much worth the time to explore, which you are encouraged to do.
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