(I just wanted to say a couple things. As always, I went long. This doesn't really have anything to do with the campaign except it is EXACTLY what Dave is working to bring to Washington. This is a reprint from the blog at
http://www.bruderly.com)
Today, November 11th, is Veteran's Day. Before that, much to the surprise of some, it was Armistice Day. A-Day began in 1926, recognizing the date, the 11th day of the 11th month, at the 11th hour, of 1918, that World War I, previously called "The War to end all Wars" came to an end.
That is part of what we memorialize today, not only honoring the men and women who fought and died in war, but to remember and cherish the day and, in fact, the very moment, that war ended. A war so devastating that it was believed to end the very concept of war in the minds of world leaders.
By now, of course, we know an end to wars has been long in arriving. However, the original concept of Veteran's Day leads me to question many modern day pundits, and the officeholders they protect, not for their political position, but for their ethical stance on war and its effects on our personal freedom.
Not being able to express concern for the actions of our government and how it conducts warfare, "because we're at war", not concerning ourselves with transgressions against the freedoms and moral high ground so preciously created at the outset of our nation, "because we're in a new kind of war, against terrorists", refusing to confirm and examine the true causes of the war and, finally, painting those who question power and work toward peace as being "Anti-American", "treasonous" or "working for the enemy" is infuriating to me.
Unlike many of my left-wing friends, I do not believe in these causes because "Bush lied and people died" or because I am innately a pacifist or because I am anti-American. I love this nation dearly. (otherwise I wouldn't be working for a campaign to help improve it.) I realize that, in order to defend the freedoms which are the hallmark of this nation, there are moments where force is unavoidable and, in comparison to all other choices, the superior option.
However, the saying is, "those who forget history are condemned to repeat it." History is littered with corpses from wars of pride, wars of conquest and wars of outright stupidity. We must constantly strive to ensure that we do not repeat those mistakes in our rush to battle and that if we do, we endeavour to correct the flaws in judgment that led to any mistakes.
I believe the nationalistic fervor with which this war is defended creates a dangerous atmosphere in this nation. It is an atmosphere in which the exercise of our freedom of speech becomes treasonous. It is an atmosphere in which questioning leaders who are as human as any other human is "anti-American."
This atmosphere conflicts with our ability to analyze reasons for war. It is as though there are groups who yearn for conflict, who detest the idea that the freedoms so eloquently discussed in the Federalist Papers and so beautifully crafted in the Constitution could ever again be defended through diplomacy and the written word.
These groups do not seem to espouse the view that I hold sacred. Again, I understand the need for armed conflict, but I never relish the thought. I believe the nation of one's birth and the faith in one's heart must never be an adequate justification for a violent death. I believe we must look upon war, not as a right of passage for a nation, but as a failure of that nation's preparedness to avoid battle that leads to the demise of it's own citizens.
In this case, failing to stop the attacks on 9/11 made the war in Afghanistan unavoidable. That nation harbored and, in some areas, continues to harbor men and women whose minds will not be swayed by diplomacy, but whose intentions must be defrayed through conflict. The capture, trial and swift punishment of Osama Bin Laden and his fellow planners has been demanded by the blood of our countrymen and women. That we have not continued our quest for that punishment is an insult to the families of the fallen and continues the trauma of the survivors.
The war in Iraq however, is still in question. Setting aside for a moment the reasons given to the American people for commitment to battle, and the possible "molding" of the support for those claims. We have seen that the simple concepts defining our nation, freedom to speak, freedom to learn, freedom to worship, freedom to define a government and freedom from fear of that government, have taken hold in the hearts and minds of the Iraqi people. Would those ideas have been as palatable, or even more so, had they not been insinuated by the tip of a bayonet? Could a more peaceful demise of the Saddam regime been crafted? Would the insurgency that kills Americans and Iraqis with equal ferocity still have come to pass?
On Veteran's Day, we must honor and cherish the memories of those who fought and perished for this country. We must salute and respect the men and women who served and survive. However, we must also be the shining light of freedom and thought, in a world so often beset by darkness, which they strove with such fervor to defend.
We must never believe it is treasonous to desire peace. We must never believe conflict is a constant state of the world. We must never believe it is anti-American to use every tool in the powerful arsenal that is the American spirit ensuring, eventually, an Armistice is signed to truly bring an end to all wars. There can be no better way to honor a fallen soldier than to say, "You will be the last."