From Veterans Day 2003: A ZW Repost

[Zomby Woof]

Digging around in the archives, I came across this piece I wrote for DU back on Veterans Day 2003. I have resisted the urge to edit and update it, and for the first time in 6 long years, I am pleased to present it to DU once again:

"Veterans and Peace - A Tribute"


As of this writing, the majority of Americans have serious doubts and misgivings concerning the United States occupation of Iraq. Even some of the firmest supporters of the invasion are given pause at the 87 billion reasons being offered for furthering the certainty of more casualties - for Iraqi citizens and occupying soldiers alike - plus dealing with the grave pratfalls in restoring stability and administering self-government, or any kind of government at all. The word "quagmire" is back in the national vernacular, after three decades of rest. The fence-straddlers who blurred the true definition of patriotism with nationalist loyalty and reluctantly supporting the invasion may be coming down on the side of peace, or perhaps the quiet admission that perhaps there was a better way.

Perhaps.

On November 11, 2003, it has been 85 years since the Armistice was signed in Versailles, France, to formally end that war that was to "end all wars".

If only it came to pass.

On this late autumn day, let us devote ourselves to contemplating peace and the defense of pacifistic values. When doing so, take time to consider the sacrifices of our veterans. For some peace activists, it is easy to dismiss or devalue the contributions of those who engaged in warfare itself, those who took very direct parts in the very acts we seek to end with our endeavours. This is a sad mistake, for veterans, a diverse a body of humanity as can be conceived, are, and were, human beings put into the position of doing the inhumane. On many occasions, the inhumane led to the worse offense: Dehumanization. Dehumanization and objectification of the self, and the other, the "enemy". Killing and violence become sacrosanct, and routine, acceptable means of solving problems and resolving deep disputes regarding territory, resources, and perhaps to the utmost folly, disputes of ideology.

There is a reason many veterans, while seeking recognition and validation for their service, are also quite reluctant to discuss their memories of staring into the deep abyss of inhumanity and bloodshed, and its accompanying chaos and depravity of the soul.

It is tempting to contrast the almost universally accepted moral clarity of World War II with the troublesome uncertainty of the current Iraqi occupation. In the shadow of that contrast, comes the temptation to regard those currently in harm's way in terms as dehumanizing as war itself - as "pawns", "mercenaries", "killers", and countless variations of the same degrading themes. Why is this so? Though I seek peace and hold fast to the utopian vision of a day where no soldiers exist or are needed, I do live in this very real, and very troubled world, in which they do exist, and are needed. As a citizen of this world, even while conceiving of one better, I am aware of the paradox of a soldier's duty: To serve as just one person in an organized and disciplined mass of people, singular figures uniformly uniformed, armed for violence, and ordered to kill, all the while being a uniquely honed, beautiful human being, with all the potential we all possess at birth. War disfigures, distorts, and destroys this potential.

The lesson herein is that peace is difficult to achieve, harder to maintain, but fortunately for us all, even harder to prevent.

It is no paradox though, that war veterans, who have seen and experienced horrors we dare not imagine, can and often do, make the best advocates of peace. When a war veteran speaks up for peace in Iraq, like the 104 year old Australian World War I soldier, who has lived to see too many wars to end all wars, we listen. Intently. When my father, a veteran of Vietnam, speaks of the eerie parallels between that war and the current situation, I listen, even more intently. Heed the lessons of those who were engaged in war, when you contemplate peace.

This is a time for asserting our mutual values, whether a veteran or a peace activist. Perhaps the peace activist is like many of you, or myself, who has never known the horrors of war, but wants it prevented just as much as if we have. We are grateful that we never have been subjected to such toil and hardship, which makes our appreciation of those who have much more potent, and necessary.

With this appreciation of the service of veterans, let us remember as well, that peace is a position of strength.

Acknowledging that the culture of war runs deep in our social fabric, it has to be noted that there is still far too much romanticizing and a masculinized rite-of-passage mythos attached to war. Let the many young future soldiers know, that we hope you do not need to experience war firsthand to learn that it is not romantic, or a requisite rite of adulthood or acculturation.

So in remembrance of those who did experience war, do yourself a favor and ask a living veteran about the glory and romance of combat. There are more reasons than declared here that they make some of the best peace advocates, and we should always welcome their insight and hard-won wisdom, born in fire.

May this current crisis of peace pass, if not by next November 11th, then the next.

May Veterans Day only be a reminder of past wars, and only past ones.

Thank you veterans, and may peace prevail.

[Blue_Tires]

1. kick