With palms together,
Good Morning Everyone,
In the US it is Memorial Day. Our attention is directed toward those who gave their lives in defense of their country. I have known a few. I have listened to their cries as they died. With this in mind, please accept the following.
There is a grave danger in over sentimentalizing soldiers and their sacrifices. The danger is that we separate them from ourselves and somehow put them on a pedestal., rather like Madonnas. Moreover, we tend to glamorize warfare in the process and by touching the heartstrings make it far easier to recruit soldiers for and initial new warfare.
I stand opposed to warfare. I oppose soldiers doing warfare. Just as I stand opposed to domestic violence and oppose perpetrators. I have often said we should not confuse the war with the warrior, but it is equally important not to give warriors a free pass. It is a volunteer army, afterall, and people elect to prepare themselves to use deadly force. They should share responsibility therefore in the consequences of using that force.
Honoring those who have died in defense of the US, or any country for that matter, might best be served by vigils against further combat. Working to find, teach, and live non-violent solutions to conflict might be far better than waving flags and blowing bugles.
May we each be a blessing in the universe.
Be well.
Thank you for saying this. I have long thought similar things about our perception of soldiers, and the unwillingness of many people to stand back and question why we have linked heroism with killing others in the name of a country, or religion, or some abstraction like freedom. Such a load of falsehoods creating so much suffering.
ReplyDeleteI respect the people who end up serving in wars, and believe they deserve to be cared for if and when they return to "regular" lives. And at the same time, I stand against the wars they often end up in, and will not support their actions, nor those of the policy makers that send them there. I see no contradiction in holding both of those views at the same time.
Bows,
Nathan