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.
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4 comments:
What better way to recognize the sacrifice of our veterans than to take steps to reduce the need for future veterans? The Department of Peace will happen some day. The sooner the better.
I don't believe one can believe in peace and war simultaneously, nor can war bring peace. Our veterens did not sacrifice their lives for our country, and it is even on the disrespectful side towards those women and men to say so. It has always only been about oil, money into corrupt coffers, "power" and greed. Five of our founding fathers warned about our MIC getting overgrown, we did not heed their warnings. Now, 99% of world protesting against Wall Street which means our wars, since that is where profits end up. There is no need for future "veterans", and Nov 11th was never orignally called "Veterans Day" to begin with. Armistice Day was intended to bring about peace-a truce-to end our wars.
I agree with you (brilliant post, bytheway, I will be sharing this one!) - as much as I am pro Peace, and member of Blogblast4Peace :-), I am wise enough to know there are times where reality makes wars inevitable. Then, perhaps, our duty as those who wage Peace is to see that damages are minimal and all treated as fairly as possible?
Soldiers are often nothign more than pawns in bigger "games"... which makes them victims too, really.
I support all veterans and especially those of my childhood country, which often gets forgotten in the Nov memorial events - Rhodesian Bush War (1970s).
Amen
I want to thank the owner of this Bread and Breakfast for doing something special for our veterans to show them that there are at least some of us that value them for risking his or her life for us. I thank all of our veterans for their service!
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