Now I realize that wading in here unbidden is arguably impolite, but I'd like to interject some shades of other into the unnecessarily black&white moral Polaroid presented here.
(If y'all don't mind. <giggle>)
War is a terrible thing, and 99+% of all warriors, professional or incidental or just plain drafted, understand this intellectually AND viscerally. Sure, there are a few pathological types and outright malcontent glory-hounds who view warmaking as a quick ladder to personal respect. But they're the aberration.
Even so, history is replete with those who would slash throats, nuke suburbs and generally reach over someone's plate to get the gravy first. This being thus (any questions?) it behooves those who have and love peace to be in a position to soundly kick the collective coccyx of those who make an unauthorized grab at the Big Metaphorical Gravy-boat.
Bottom line is that being a Mennonite is maladaptive.
It is one thing to abhor war. It is another entirely to attempt to "wish it wasn't there". Predation is a basic component of the human psyche, however "civilized" th context. We bombed Iraq and not Rwanda, cuz we need oil and we have plenty of dry red dirt, thank you.
So after considered reflection, I get the drift that you'd rather not our children be taught war, either theory or practicum. I'll speak up and suggest that we should. Honoring those who have fought to defend peace (high concept) and cheap resources for my my my sport-ute (low concept) fits into this. War, like poverty, is awful but ever with us. A morally uniaxial response to either is imo a form of escape, not constructive engagement. |
