Veterans Day Thoughts about the Department of Peace

I work at Rosemary House Bed and Breakfast in Pittsboro NC.  This year, innkeeper Karen Pullen gave away a free night to Veterans and their families.  I just finished checking in some of these couples, and it left me thinking of the military, war, and more importantly~ peace.

I am an ardent pacifist but I do feel strong support and affection for the members of our armed forces--which are not exclusive to each other.  A good friend of my family has spent the better part of the past few years serving in Afghanistan. Watching his family go through the extremes of pride and worry was very sobering.  I also recently attended a service at Arlington (luckily not for my young friend)  which was deeply moving. 

I came up with some links that happen to follow the trail of my thoughts pretty closelyt:

This first one is from a favorite comedian Mike Birbiglia, who says "I love the troops. If they weren't the troops than I would be the troops, and I would be the worst troops".

One of my favorite musicians, PJ Harvey, released a very thought provoking album this year. Let England Shake explores themes of war, nations, patriotism, and the arc of a superpower.  Although at times terribly depressing, I do love this album.  Plus, I really like having the chorus "what if I take my problem to the United Nations" stuck in my head all day.  This video gives a feel of the album:


I'll leave you with one more link, here. This one is about a direction I hope we can move towards some day.  I look forward to a time when our nation decides to make a Department of Peace that is as well funded and supported (if not more so!) as our Department of War.