It's crucial we reflect on the lessons war has taught us

These lessons are not just historical footnotes but vital insights that can guide us towards a more constructive and peaceful future, free from the horrors of fear and bloodshed.

“At the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month” we mark the time and date of the Armistice that ended the Great War of 1914-18. Sadly, Robert Burns’s observations on “man’s inhumanity to man” would soon see the idealist HG Wells’s “war that will end war” followed by further conflict, with the rise of fascism leading to the Second World War breaking out in 1939.

Lessons from wars, including the Second World War, transition from contemporary policy to historical warnings as the number of those with first-hand knowledge diminishes. We are on the cusp of this transition now, with the spectre of dangerous extremism looming, finding new audiences and avenues for inflammatory expression.

Humanity has many pressing challenges, from the impacts of a warming planet to the consequences of poverty and disease, yet we still find time and money for war and destruction. Isn’t it time we honoured those lost to conflict by learning the real lesson from it that those who have experienced it have long told us?

War must be measured as a human failure to create solutions that respect human life, strive for consensus, and do not abuse power or allow extremism to aggressively close minds to any dissenting voices.

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While we await insight into what a second Donald Trump presidency means for the US and the rest of the world following his inauguration in January, we can learn much from observing the reactions to last week’s US election result. It is worth noting that the Democrats accepted this election’s outcome, which was positive for the peaceful transfer of power in contrast to the democratically destabilising scenes from 2020 and January 2021.

There is much room for those in Scotland and beyond to learn why Trump won not only a second term thanks to the Electoral College but also triumphed in the popular vote, and why the Republican Party won control of the Senate and is on course to take the House of Representatives too.

Even if it’s by those you agree with, Too much power in too few hands must always be a concern, so how will this emphatic mandate affect the next four years?

Closer to home, there is much to learn from why the Trump campaign’s simple messaging resonated with voters so widely across demographics, while in contrast Harris seemed to stall. “Ignore the people’s priorities at your peril” should be the clarion call across global politics.

Meanwhile, in my constituency of Edinburgh Eastern, I was sickened by the awful scenes once again inflicted on communities over Halloween and Bonfire Night, including attacks on our emergency services personnel.

Events that should be enjoyed and celebrated across Scotland must not be allowed to terrorise communities, stifle our public services and attack the emergency services who serve and protect us. The consequences for those in our communities of bus services stopped and road closures affect lives, but they are sadly necessary when mitigating the risk of destruction and danger.

(Image: PA)

Proactive work by police and other emergency services vastly reduced casualties, thankfully, but our communities were again held hostage by those with criminal intent and subjected to nights of destructive terror. The police have a difficult balance to strike when emergency services are themselves targets, and we must all continue to work constructively to get this balance right.

While minister for community safety, I helped to create what became the Fireworks and Pyrotechnic Articles (Scotland) Act 2022, a step towards addressing the fear caused by antisocial behaviour. However, the full implementation of this Act – which was only a part of the solution – is still pending. We need to take measures to ensure the safety of our communities.

Worrying scenes from Glasgow, and anger at the city council for missing deadlines on implementing Firework Control Zones, show that lessons learned must be more than a soundbite for public trust.

Leadership is crucial in protecting our people, and our collective responsibility is to ensure that a coalition of common sense prevails in this Parliament. We all have a role to play in ensuring the safety of our communities, and it is time for everyone to address not only the demand and supply of dangerous weapons but also the emboldening of antisocial and criminal behaviour.

The Scottish Parliament has passed legislation with good intent, such as free bus travel for those under 22 – but this must be a privilege, not a right. Those who abuse it must lose that privilege and allow drivers and passengers to feel safe from gangs of youths travelling freely on the public purse.

Experience from previous years in my constituency shows that there are always adults among those arrested in connection with Bonfire Night unrest, both for providing fireworks to children and for involvement in acts of violence and destruction.

To address this, we must support Police Scotland to implement evidence-based targeted measures, such as increased community policing and strict penalties for those convicted of such crimes.

We must protect our communities not by wringing our hands but by taking decisive action – this is crucial to preventing future incidents and ensuring the sustainable safety of our communities.

If we want future generations to form cohesive, peaceful societies and live up to HG Wells’s expectation of learning from the consequences of conflict, they must first understand boundaries through effective education of both the benefits of constructive resolution and the destructive consequences of extremism and chaos.