A quick note on Veteran's Day

Not much to post about this Veteran's Day.  With the day off, I've got a bike ride planned for the morning, grading in the afternoon, and a run at dusk.  (I'm starting to taper for the November 20 Saddleback Marathon, so the distances involved today will be quite modest.)

It's hard for me to blog about Veteran's Day.  I'm quite confident that others are doing so far more effectively than I; Annika chose to post the "band of brothers" speech from Henry V, which can move even a latte-sipping, bike shorts-wearing, sushi-eating, NPR-listening Episcopalian blue-state liberal to tears.

What I am thinking about is this: within a year or two, my classes will surely be filled with young veterans.  I've already had four or five young men who served in Iraq last year; the numbers will surely go up.  For countless ex-GIs and Marines, the community college is the first stop when they return to civilian life.  (In the early to mid-70s, they say, PCC was a veritable haven for Vietnam vets.)  I am looking forward to meeting these young men and young women, to hearing their stories and learning from their perspectives.  It's easy for me to be angered by war -- but I have a healthy respect for those who, often against their will, go off to to fight.  I haven't done what they have done.

On the other hand, I don't think less of myself because I was never a veteran.  When Shakespeare writes:

And gentlemen in England now a-bed
Shall think themselves accursed they were not here,
And hold their manhoods cheap whiles any speaks
That fought with us upon Saint Crispin's day...

I can say, no, my manhood is not contingent upon the willingness to take other human life!  I will not denigrate the character of those young men and women, mostly from less fortunate circumstances than my own, who chose military service.    But while I honor their sacrifice, they are not my heroes.  My heroes are those like my friends in Christian Peacemaker Teams and the Mennonite Mission Network, who go into the same damn places our Marines and GIs go -- but they go unarmed save for faith.  If I regret anything, it is that I wasn't a missionary.

Comments

[Xrlq]

It's easy for me to be angered by war -- but I have a healthy respect for those who, often against their will, go off to to fight.

Nah. We've had an all-volunteer military for most of your lifetime and mine, so none of these guys are in there against their will. They're there because they want to be. As one who accepts that war is sometimes a necessary evil, and that America's war power is predominantly a force for good, I say, God bless 'em for that. I could not say that in good conscience if I were a pacifist. If war is always wrong, they are wrong, too.

[Hugo]

XRLQ, I know plenty of folks who joined the military and never expected to be in Iraq. Call them foolish, but don't assume they are there "because they want to be." Most chose the military not out of patriotism but out of the hope that it would provide upward mobility. I respect their willingess to work hard -- I can do that while simultaneously regretting the cause for which they work and the means which they employ.

[Xrlq]

They went into the military, knowing full well what the military was for. Many who enrolled prior to 9/11 probably assumed they'd never see combat, but they knew full well that they could. Whether they expected to end up in Iraq specifically is beside the point - assuming there isn't some new brand of pacifism-lite out there that teaches that most U.S. wars were moral, only the one in Iraq wasn't.

[kelly]

Oh, Hugo. You're post started off great, but then you proceeded to offend me on so many levels (though I get that your post was not "about ME" so to speak). I come from a long line of Military fathers, my father and both of my grandfathers were Marines. My dad fought in Korea and my grandfathers in WWII (one also in WWI). All received various military commendations for their service, all experienced horrible things, one of them went crazy and killed himself (after not being able to come to terms with the horrors he saw as a jew, liberating polands jews from concentrations camps, those that were left anyway). How come they aren't heros? Those who made an ultimate sacrifice (not at all unlike your Lord's)dying for the (very real) sins of others! Why are those who go out converting the "heathens" (some of whom are the most peaceful people on earth, hello Buddhists! The Bedouin?!) why are they heroes? At least, after a war, the culture is retained. Your christian crusaders, in my opinion, do nothing more than to eviscerate culture, damning people who have lived and loved within their respective religions far longer than the christians, should they choose not to convert. You're going to send the Dalai Lama to hell? Oh, sorry, he's sending himself to hell. If your god is the kind of god that would send the Dalai Lama to hell then I want nothing to do with that God and i'll be kickin' it in the fiery embers with all the other great non-christian folks whose great sin has to been to improve the human condition while not embracing Jesus Christ. I am so blown away, by your gall and your arrogance. You make a lousy missionary Hugo, as you've just turned me so far away from Christianity there is no turning back. You also picked a crappy day to bring up your crusade, it was ill timed and ill placed. I totally need a cigarette now (and i'm trying to quit!), my hands are shaking, my pulse is up and I think I might cry. I apologize for the strong show of anger and emotion and I apologize if I hurt your feelings or offended you as much as you hurt and offended me.

[Hugo]

Good lord, Kelly -- missionaries and crusaders are as far apart as the Army Airborne and the Taliban! Mennonite Missionaries don't carry swords, they don't kill, and it may surprise you, they don't think non-Christians are going to hell. My friends who are now in China and in Jordan and in Russia and in Cambodia are there to share the Good News of Christ. They are also there to build sewers, teach English, provide basic medical services, and teach farming techniques. They have nothing in common with those sent out by Urban II in 1095.

I never said military personnel aren't heroes. I said they aren't MY heroes -- there's a colossal distinction. A hero, in my book, is someone who lives a life one might have liked to live if one had had more guts.

Please, please tell me where I have suggested that folks who do not accept Jesus are going to hell. And please tell me where announcing my preference for missionaries over soldiers is denigrating the service of those who either chose or were drafted in to the latter profession.

[Jennifer]

The Christian Peacemaker Teams are not the kind of missionaries you are talking about, Kelly. Here is their mission statement:

Christian Peacemaker Teams (CPT) offers an organized, nonviolent alternative to war and other forms of lethal inter-group conflict. CPT provides organizational support to persons committed to faith-based nonviolent alternatives in situations where lethal conflict is an immediate reality or is supported by public policy.

[Amanda]

One of my good friends just lost a friend in Iraq who was in the National Guard, X. Never in her wildest dreams did she think she would be taken to Iraq and kept there long after her time with the National Guard was supposed to be up. She was supposed to come home to go to school--but now she's dead. I don't think that a flippant "She knew what she was getting into," is in any way appropriate, considering the circumstances.

[kelly]

Okay, I came into my rant with the following assumption: non believers will not be assumed into heaven during the rapture, but will remain on earth for 7 years of a hellish existence, during which they will hopefully turn their hearts to jesus and thus get a second chance. If they still do not accept Jesus then they are damned forever (to what I haven't been given a clear explanation of). Isn't that what christians believe?

Now it may have sounded like I was under the impression that missionaries practice violence, I don't believe that. I know they are spreading the "good news", but I find that a dubious term. It's not good news if you are a non-christian, it's not good news if you don't convert. Remember your statements about racial diversity a few days back? Your statement that you'd be happy when everyone is a pleasing shade of brown? Why can't that include religious diversity? Why does everyone have to be brown (which i'm totally fine with btw) and christian? I find missionaries to be the soldiers of christ (which don't some actually call themselves that?) to me turning someone towards christianity, someone whose entire cultural identity centers around their religion(I realize that's a broad statement), someone like a cambodian for example, and then killing their religion or deeming it invalid or a lie has a homogenizing and creepily cleansing tone. Not to mention the hypocrisy of the whole thing, e.g. not converting the jews because you need Jesus to get angry over the treatment of the jews in Israel so that he will return. That's just messed up! Granted, I get alot of my knowledge of christianity from an evangelical, so I may well be talking out of my ass, but that's the way I see things based on what i've been told. Therefore, I get really angry when I hear soldier=bad, missionary=good. The definition of which is totally subjective. Does that help clarify my rather crazy and over emotional response? I hope so, because i'd really like it if you got where I was coming from.

[Amanda]

Kelly, not all Christians believe in the literal Rapture. In fact, I would venture to say that the majority of Christians don't believe in the Rapture. The obsession with it is unique to evangelicals and a few other small groups.

[annika]

"non believers will not be assumed into heaven during the rapture, but will remain on earth for 7 years of a hellish existence, during which they will hopefully turn their hearts to jesus and thus get a second chance. If they still do not accept Jesus then they are damned forever (to what I haven't been given a clear explanation of). Isn't that what christians believe?"

i'm proud to say that i DO NOT believe that. i understand that many Chrisians (fundamentalist, which i am not) do believe that, but in all my years of Catholic schooling, i was never taught any such thing.

[Hugo]

Kelly, you're simply not aware of how most missionaries work. It is far more culturally sensitive than in previous eras -- and it often involves fusion with native practices.

I do see how you could be offended, and I am sorry. Lord knows, it was not my intention.

[kelly]

I know Hugo, and i'm sorry, I know it wasn't your intention. My comments were extremely reactionary. I am glad to hear that not all Christians believe in the whole rapture thing and i'm happy to admit my ignorance of such matters. Maybe you guys could tell what you do believe? I promise not to freak out, i'm genuinely interested in hearing another side to the story so to speak. Keep in mind that i'm not looking for spiritual guidance, i'm just trying to understand where people are coming from.

And Hugo, by your definition of Hero, I can see why veterans are not your heroes, and i'm cool with that, but maybe you could expand your definition just and teeney tiney bit for those who did their part, though it may have been violent, to make this world a better place (i'm talking about the vets of WWII here)?

[Col Steve]

Hugo:

As usual, a thoughtful post, but perhaps this line is somewhat one-sided:

I can say, no, my manhood is not contingent upon the willingness to take other human life!

I have two different perspectives on that line:

The first is that killing is certainly part of the spectrum of conflict military personnel face, but far from the only aspect. In fact, if you look at the current "range of military operations," you'll find peace keeping, humanitarian operations, non-combatant evacuation, support to civil authorities (ie. disaster assistance, etc.) right along with major combat operations. In my 21 years of service all over the world and in several "combat"
theaters of operations, I would say those non-combat activites have been far more prevalent. Of course, death and destruction make the headlines, but one rarely hears of the 120 countries the military has been in over the last decade - building schools and other infrastructure, providing health care, trying to keep the peace, working and training with the local populace, etc. Even in Iraq, agree with the conflict or not, as many soldiers are engaged in humanitarian and reconstruction efforts as with security operations. The Administration has done a terrible job at strategic communications. The State Department puts out a weekly 23+ page briefing on all these activities - but it's rarely communicated outside the beltway. A good friend in command of a battalion doing patrols gets press coverage; another who helped establish the new dinar and conditions for economic market activities gets none.

The second is more personal, in that my own experiences and relations with fellow military members were not about killing for a cause, but because we grew to know each other, trust each other, and ultimately, to love each other to the point of sacrificing for each other (as much as a higher cause). We were willing to fight because we were are unwilling to let each other down.

I forget who wrote this, but these words summarized it nicely for me (note, men = men and women in my experiences):

"I now know why men who have been to war yearn to reunite. Not to tell stories or look at old pitures. Not to laugh or weep. Comrades gather because they long to be with the men who, once acted their best, men who suffered and sacrificed, who were stripped raw, right down to their humanity. I did not pick these men. They were delivered by fate and the military. But I know them in a way I know no other men. I have never given anyone such trust. They were willing to guard something more precious than my life. They would have carried my reputation, the memory of me. It was part of the bargain we all made, the reason we were so willing to die for one another. I cannot say were we are headed. Ours are not perfect friendships; those are the province of legend and myth. A few of my comrades drift far from me now, sending back only occasional word. I know that one day even these could fall to silence. Some of the men will stay close, a couple, perhaps, always at hand as long as I have memory, I will think of them all, every day

Today, I go to Arlington Memorial, thankful there are volunteers not only who go to distant places, but stand guard now in the cold and rain, to honor and remember those who did so in the past. As a famous poem ends,

If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.

I'd also add that the perspective of being willing to die for something (or someone) as opposed to killing for something (or someone) would extend to those who go armed only with faith.

[Hugo]

Thank you, Col. Steve, for one of your typically wonderful comments. I assure, the flip remark about manhood was only in response to the Shakespeare line about "holding manhood cheap" if one had not fought. It was not intended as a slight at soldiers, only at those who suggest that one's manhood is in question if one isn't in combat.