I have been watching a documentary made in 2017 as part of the commemoration of The Great War. I've seen it before but there is an abiding attraction for me in a tale so horrendous, and yet real, so I am watching another time. The original footage has undergone colourisation, digitalisation and a resetting of the frame rate.

I don't think there can be much argument that WW1 was a singular disaster in human history. Worse, it ushered in a second great conflagration twenty years later. Remarkably, we are still recovering from both wars today, certainly the political and social consequences are with us. We would not be talking about a Russian invasion of the Ukraine, for example, if not for the revolution of 1917, brought about by the conditions created in Russia by WW 1. 

It is worth considering whether or not the declining human moral fortunes of the 20th Century translates into something more apocalyptic. I wouldn't blame anyone who thinks that our hold on existence is tenuous. Memories seem very short and lessons learnt are unlearnt within a generation of two. Weapons systems get more powerful and civilian populations appear to be fair game.

It doesn't have to be hell in handbasket. But it might be, more's the pity.