This Friday, November 11th, communities throughout The US will hold ceremonies honoring the men and women who served in the armed forces. Parades will pass by the gathered crowds with High School bands playing Sousa marches and VFW and American Legion walking behind them. They will be followed by ROTC cadets, "Rolling Thunder" biker vets, National Guard units and all the other usual suspects. A lot of parade organizers actually let
Veterans For Peace chapters join in. Veterans For Peace chapter 72 will not be one of those, because in the words of Phil Ochs,
"I aint' marching anymore."
The reason why below the flip.
In 1918, on the 11th hour, of the 11th day, of the 11th month, the killing stopped in the "War to end all wars", an armistice had been signed that morning and went into effect on that famous hour. November 11th became Armistice Day, a day that in 1926 the Congress proclaimed
"...it is fitting that the recurring anniversary of this date should be commemorated with thanksgiving and prayer and exercises designed to perpetuate peace through good will and mutual understanding between nations;...". A legal federal holiday was established in 1938 and in 1954 Armistice Day was renamed Veterans Day. In his proclamation on October 8th of that year, President Eisenhower called upon all citizens to observe Thursday, November 11, 1954, as Veterans Day, and to
"... reconsecrate ourselves to the task of promoting an enduring peace...".
In all the Veterans Day ceremonies that I have attended over the past 35 years since I became a veteran, I have yet to hear any mention of these ideas. Instead all I have seen is a celebration of militarism. Instead I hear the same old platitudes, of how on this day we gather to honor those who have served while at the same time there is a homeless veteran with a cardboard sign we just passed by on our way to the celebration. At the same time Congress is busy gutting the Veterans Administrations budget. At the same time the "Military Industrial Complex", those "Masters of War", continue to waste billions of dollars in a fraudulent scheme of greed, avarice and malfeasance. Never have I heard a dignitary expose and denounce the lies and deceptions that caused so many of the veterans in attendance to willfully serve this country when called because they believed. They believed the lies perpetrated by the likes of Senator Joseph McCarthy and his ilk. They believed the lies perpetrated by the old "Cold Warriors" of the "missile gap", and the "domino theory". And they believed that "Bright shining lie" that was Viet Nam. And now we are engaged in another war perpetrated by lies.
It is time to stop believing that war is the answer. It is time to recognize that war is obsolete. That war is the failure of diplomacy, a failure brought about because so many of the liars who lust for war, worship at the alter war in the belief it will bring them the rewards of glory and gold. But war is a false God. A false god worshipped by warmongers and poll watchers; a false god worshipped by those in the media who wish to be bathed in its reflected glow; a false god worshipped by those who have never seen, heard, smelled or touched the obscenity of the violence they glorify. It is time to stop believing the lies.
If we wish to honor the men and women who served with honor and dignity when called, we need to step back from the abyss. We should honor them once and for all by dismantling the war machine. We should honor them once and for all by holding our elected official accountable for their nefarious deeds. We should honor them once and for all by honoring our commitment to them and fully fund the Veterans Administration. We should honor them once and for all by ensuring that never again will the men and women of our armed services be put in harm's way because of lies.
On this November 11th, I will not be marching in any parade. I will not be standing in a crowd of veterans and their families and friends, listening to the same speeches I have heard too many times. Instead I will be gathered with my fellow Veterans For Peace chapter 72 members. We will be observing Armistice Day and reflecting on how it was co-opted from a day "...designed to perpetuate peace through good will and mutual understanding between nations;..." to one of a celebration of militarism. We will be following President Eisenhower's call to "... reconsecrate ourselves to the task of promoting an enduring peace...". We will gathered together away from the drums and brass bands, away from the flyovers of the F15s, away from the reminders of the lies that have caused so much pain and suffering for naught. Because as General U.S. Grant said, "The one thing I never want to see again is a military parade."
Wage peace, war is obsolete.
