Armistice Day 2004
Armistice Day 2004
Dear Friends:
At this time every year I try to take time to reflect on militarism and pacifism. Here is my musing for this year:
The same politicians that will speak at memorials and parades today will tomorrow continue the policies that send young people to kill and be killed. For many countries their primary means of diplomacy remains the use violence and the threat of violence. The 86 years since the end of the War to End All Wars has been marked by a stunning lack of realization of the vision of a world without wars. The conflicts of today may not resemble the staged battles of the 19th Century but their goals and effects are much the same. The use of fear and patriotic appeals to get young people to kill and die for the causes of their leaders are the same that have been used for over two thousand years. I could end there and simply accept that war is inevitable. But even in the bleak aftermath of Shrub’s re-election and the US’s continuing catastrophic success in Iraq there is much to give us hope.
There are now societies in the world where militarism is no longer seen as the way to be in the world. Many countries (outside the US) have reduced the scale of their military and see reaching out to help others as the way to create national security. It seems to me that the common thread in these societies is that they have an educated and healthy populace and have vibrant participatory democracies. What gives me even greater hope though is the scale of popular protests that sprung up around the globe before the Iraq War. Millions took to the streets to say no. Although we did not stop that war, our instincts were proven to be better than those of our leaders and all their “intelligence”. Ultimately the way in which the world will become less violent and safer for all is if the youth around the world refuse to take up arms.
In the US the only political label worse than liberal is pacifist. Even liberals speak of pacifists in scornful tones. But I encourage you to embrace it and celebrate the notion that conflicts can be solved without resorting to mass murder. We all need to teach our children to say, “No, I will not kill for that cause”. Hunting down and killing our enemies at best brings about temporary relief until a new enemy arrives. The only way we can truly ensure our own safety is to bring about social justice for all. Yes it is idealistic, maybe utopian, but I would say that if we could take 95% of the world’s military budget and redirect it into causes that actually benefit people we would be a long way down that road. Cuba (okay there is one label worse than pacifist, and that is Cuba-lover) did exactly that after the fall of the Soviet Union. They did it because they decided that community health and education were their top priorities.
I encourage everyone to take some time today to think about how you can in your own way make this a more peaceful planet. Then work at it in your everyday life. Then lets take stock of our progress at the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month each year.
Love,
Nic
Dear Friends:
At this time every year I try to take time to reflect on militarism and pacifism. Here is my musing for this year:
The same politicians that will speak at memorials and parades today will tomorrow continue the policies that send young people to kill and be killed. For many countries their primary means of diplomacy remains the use violence and the threat of violence. The 86 years since the end of the War to End All Wars has been marked by a stunning lack of realization of the vision of a world without wars. The conflicts of today may not resemble the staged battles of the 19th Century but their goals and effects are much the same. The use of fear and patriotic appeals to get young people to kill and die for the causes of their leaders are the same that have been used for over two thousand years. I could end there and simply accept that war is inevitable. But even in the bleak aftermath of Shrub’s re-election and the US’s continuing catastrophic success in Iraq there is much to give us hope.
There are now societies in the world where militarism is no longer seen as the way to be in the world. Many countries (outside the US) have reduced the scale of their military and see reaching out to help others as the way to create national security. It seems to me that the common thread in these societies is that they have an educated and healthy populace and have vibrant participatory democracies. What gives me even greater hope though is the scale of popular protests that sprung up around the globe before the Iraq War. Millions took to the streets to say no. Although we did not stop that war, our instincts were proven to be better than those of our leaders and all their “intelligence”. Ultimately the way in which the world will become less violent and safer for all is if the youth around the world refuse to take up arms.
In the US the only political label worse than liberal is pacifist. Even liberals speak of pacifists in scornful tones. But I encourage you to embrace it and celebrate the notion that conflicts can be solved without resorting to mass murder. We all need to teach our children to say, “No, I will not kill for that cause”. Hunting down and killing our enemies at best brings about temporary relief until a new enemy arrives. The only way we can truly ensure our own safety is to bring about social justice for all. Yes it is idealistic, maybe utopian, but I would say that if we could take 95% of the world’s military budget and redirect it into causes that actually benefit people we would be a long way down that road. Cuba (okay there is one label worse than pacifist, and that is Cuba-lover) did exactly that after the fall of the Soviet Union. They did it because they decided that community health and education were their top priorities.
I encourage everyone to take some time today to think about how you can in your own way make this a more peaceful planet. Then work at it in your everyday life. Then lets take stock of our progress at the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month each year.
Love,
Nic
posted by nic rossouw at
1:42 PM
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