“No Glory in War”
Excerpt, minor edit by Carolyn Bennett
“War damages everything associated with it: ● Not only the
sailors and soldiers but the civilians including the children ● Not only the
body but the mind and the spirit.
“Glorification of war becomes support for more war, for
accepting the easy violence of war ─ instead of the difficult peaceful
resolution of human problems.
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| Afghan deadWar's endless sufferersPeople of Afghanistan |
“… Veterans Day ceremonies perpetuate a myth of fear that we
have created for ourselves and that we have allowed our false leaders to impose
upon us.
“We invent myths of defense against those we fear ─ instead
of living truly free.
“We perpetuate fear to maintain fantasies of victory and
glory and nostalgia for the oxymoronic ‘good war.’
We spend $trillions and kill and
injure millions of people;
We sacrifice our own people and our
people’s needs [for] fantasies of glory, [for] perpetuation of fear.
“War, if it continues, will bring down a nation built by
generations of hard-working, dedicated people — a long collapse to be caused by
economic and moral bankruptcy, and by the anger, envy and spite of people
around the world.
Injury compounded by insult
|
“Please
don’t tell me
|
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| War's endless sufferers - People of Iraq |
“Instead, thank others for their services to your true
freedom: the creators, growers, healers,
preservers.
“As a veteran I might participate in the ceremonies if I
could display my opposition to war at those ceremonies; but I cannot because
many would be angered, not enlightened, not persuaded. I would be told, without embarrassment, that ‘freedom
isn’t free.’ Even [my] words written here will permit many to indulge their
anger.”
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| War's endless sufferersPeople of Vietnam |
Andrew Larkin is a Vietnam-era veteran “as are [his] friends
and brothers,” he says. His father, uncles and an aunt were World War II veterans;
a great uncle was stationed on a battleship during World War I; a
great-grandfather, an immigrant in an Illinois regiment, fought in the Civil
War and sustained a bullet wound that caused him to suffer for “the rest of his
life.” Andrew Larkin is also Emeritus Professor of Economics at St Cloud State
University (Minnesota) and writes for PeaceVoice.
Sources and notes
“No Glory in War: Reflections on the Day from a Veteran” November
11, 2013, by Andrew Larkin, NCVeditor; Category: Guest Author, Politics, newclearvision.comhttp://www.newclearvision.com/2013/11/11/no-glory-in-war/
New Clear Vision: constructive commentary for the
chronically farsighted - See more at:
http://www.newclearvision.com/about/#sthash.sRQ4SGuL.dpuf
Bennett's books are available in New York State independent bookstores: Lift Bridge Bookshop: www.liftbridgebooks.com [Brockport, NY]; Sundance Books: http://www.sundancebooks.com/main.html [Geneseo, NY]; Mood Makers Books: www.moodmakersbooks.com [City of Rochester, NY]; Dog Ears Bookstore and Literary Arts Center: www.enlightenthedog.org/ [Buffalo, NY]; Burlingham Books – ‘Your Local Chapter’: http://burlinghambooks.com/ [Perry, NY 14530]; The Bookworm: http://www.eabookworm.com/ [East Aurora, NY] • See also: World Pulse: Global Issues through the eyes of Women: http://www.worldpulse.com/ http://www.worldpulse.com/pulsewire http://www.facebook.com/#!/bennetts2ndstudy
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