The Imperial Peace Museum

The Imperial War Museum reopens its doors this week after a £40m transformation. It strikes me as rather distasteful, the idea of a war museum, and whilst war (and porn for that matter) are responsible for some positive things, such as advances in technology and science, it still seems bizarre that war is celebrated in such an unashamedly bold way.

I have actually been to a peace museum (the only one of its kind in the UK, in Bradford), which I think is a great idea, but it was rather underwhelming and underfunded (there’s more money in war). It explores the ‘often untold stories of peace, peacemakers, social reform and peace movements’. But I guess, peace just isn’t as exciting as war. Guns and bombs and fighter planes are cool (though pointless death isn’t). What does peace have to offer? Peace pipes?