If we're into cursing Kipling for backing the war, surely that should go along with similarly cursing the Labour Party and the TUC in the UK, and the Social Democrats in Gemany, who forgot all their fine words about international solidarity of the workers, and rallied to the flag.

The truth is, that's what people do in certain types of crisis, then as now. Indeed, there's always a saving minority who fall in line - but we shouldn't be too confident that we'd have been part of that minority, when we are scorning those who went along with the majority.