twirlgrrl | Military service

Just after I'd chatted with some folks online about not wanting Blue to join the military, like, EVER, and about my church's historical C.O. and/or noncombatant status, the next time I cracked open my church magazine I saw an article about military service. That sort of synchronicity happens often, believe it or not. Anyway, I wrote about it and put the article on one of my other LJs, so if you want to read it you can go here:

http://spread-word.livejournal.com/21056.html

It doesn't address the only lingering issue I haven't resolved for myself in regards to the topic. The fact is, it seems that sometimes military action is truly necessary--as in the Holocaust, to use an obvious example. What is my duty in that circumstance? Should I feel comfortable excluding myself due to my religious beliefs? It's sortof like the vaccination thing; I'm able to pick and choose because most kids are vaccinated. Is it OK to let others carry that burden? What would be a truly effective nonviolent solution to something like WWII? If people from all over the world had traveled to Germany, Poland etc. to clog up the works and become nonviolent human shields, would that have stopped the Nazis? Eventually? Ever? I know I am personally committed to nonviolence, but I am also committed to compassion and serving others. I'm not sure how to reconcile those values in certain situations.

I'm just musing, but of course your thoughts are welcome!

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I can't quite figure out my stance on war. I firmly believe that violence begets nothing but more violence. I believe war should be the last resort, when all attempts at peaceful resolution have failed. I also think that we create a lot of our own problems outside of the US.

That being said, I also believe that violence can be a necessary evil and is, at times, the only option. But how do we know when it is the only option? How do we keep ourselves from going too far? How do we ensure safety and respect of human rights without believing that we have the right to police the world? And while I enjoy the freedom to criticize our government for all of their failings and ulterior motives for war, I do understand that someone is fighting for that very freedom for me.

I can't quite reconcile my pacifist nature with my fear of loss of freedom and my outrage at the injustices occurring across the planet.

Exactly, that's where I am too.

This is why women don't run the military. We'd analyze things to death and we wouldn't get enough actual killing done. Hey wait a minute...

Oh, and I'm not personally so sure about the "someone is out there fighting for my freedom" thing right now. I understand that in the (distant) past Americans had to fight for independence, and that freedom of speech, expression, religion etc. is a core value here, and I appreciate that very much. But I don't see any of our current or recent military actions as related to preserving that freedom. In fact I think that the battle to preserve those freedoms is being waged here at home, between activists and government agents, between the Patriot Act proponents and the voters. I'm very passionate about that battle but, to me, the fight we picked with Iraq doesn't have a lot to do with our freedoms. It has more to do with money.

Anyway.

Oh, I agree 100%. I do not think that Iraq as anything to do whatsoever with anything related to my freedom. But I do think that it was a handy scare tactic to force things like the Patriot Act into play. OMG YOU DON'T WANT THE TERRORISTS TO KILL YOU, DO YOU? YOU BETTER LET US TAP PHONE LINES WITHOUT WARRANTS, THEN. ALSO, WE REALLY NEED TO START DETAINING PEOPLE FOR AN INDETERMINATE PERIOD OF TIME AND TORTURING THEM BECAUSE THEY WANT TO KIIIIILL YOU.

Exactly. That's why I have a hard time with the "fighting for our freedoms" line these days. I know that there's some truth to it somehow but my mind immediately jumps to what you just said and it just doesn't resonate for me, you know? I have to put some thought into finding a way to make that concept meaningful for me again.

~Reading~ I'm all about peace. :-)

Military service

Wow, what a great question!

Re: Wow, what a great question!

Re: Wow, what a great question!

Re: Wow, what a great question!

Re: Wow, what a great question!

Re: Wow, what a great question!