Thoughts on Memorial Day

For those of you who claim the title “pacifist,” I salute you. It takes great courage of one’s convictions to make such a statement and it takes a commitment that most of us are either unwilling or unable to make. It’s not easy to be a pacifist, but I’m glad there are those people who hold up this high ideal for us to follow, this ideal society that we must become if we are to survive.
I for one am glad that we have had people like the Rev. Martin Luther King who, through non-violent action, helped us to move closer to his dream of a world in which every person is treated with dignity and respect. I am glad that we have the example of Mahatma Gandhi who, through the principles of non-violence, freed his nation from the oppression of the British Empire. I am glad that we have the words of Jesus, calling upon us to “love one another.” I only wish that more of us could actually live out these words and emulate the likes of these men. Unfortunately those who would make King, Gandhi and Jesus their role models are few. Those who would victimize the weak and impose violence upon the defenseless are many.
Until the time comes that the world as a whole can renounce violence and, as individuals, most of us would sooner cut off our own right arm than harm another human being, there will be a need for soldiers and policemen. That is a simple fact of life. Therefore, for those of us who have served in the armed forces, I am grateful and consider myself honored to be counted among them.
At this point, let me quote another statement from Jesus found in the book of John (15:13): “Greater love hath no man than he would lay down his life for his friends.” That is indeed the heart of the matter as far as I’m concerned.  All the veterans here today know of at least one comrade in arms who did just that, who gave his or her life that the rest of us might live… those who would jump on a grenade to protect the other members of their squad… those who, as combat medics, braved the bullets of the enemy in order to help a fallen friend… those who volunteered to walk point because their buddy was “short” and had a “bad feeling” about the day’s patrol. You do know what I’m talking about. Those are the ones we gather to honor even as we pray for the dawning of a day when the need for such sacrifices will be unthinkable.
Those who survived the rigors of combat and came home in one piece are also to be honored on this day. Though they may not speak openly of their scars among those who have not worn the uniform, the scars are there nonetheless. These scars lie on the psyche of the young soldiers who will, for the rest of their lives, wake in the night from dreams of the things they have seen. These scars lie on the hearts of those who, finding themselves with no other choices in life, found themselves among the “unwilling who do the unnecessary for the ungrateful.” These scars lie on the souls of those who found themselves killing other people whose only crime had been to have fallen prey to the propaganda of their own governments. It is for these that I have the utmost compassion, for they quietly live among us, knowing in their hearts that they have killed other human beings just like themselves, thrust on the battlefields by bureaucrats and politicians whose hidden reasons for war were far from the just and righteous ones fed to a far too often credulous and unquestioning public.
Still, I believe that there are times when it is not only just to go to war, but absolutely immoral not to do so. There are times when one’s love for friends, family, and indeed for life itself, call upon us to take action in defense of all that we hold dear. Those situations, thank goodness are few, but they exist nonetheless. It is for just these situations that we have the ancient and accepted “just war theory” and it is our duty as citizens to demand of our leaders that they prove that the cause in which they want us to sacrifice the lives of our best and brightest is indeed the only reasonable course of action, that failure to act would be immoral.
Long ago, theologians proposed “Just War Theory,” a set of ethical guidelines for waging war. The criteria sometimes vary, but they usually include some combination of these six:
1.      War must be the last resort.
2.      War must be declared by a legitimate authority.
3.      There must be a just cause for waging war.
4.      There must be a reasonable chance for success.
5.      The war must avoid targeting civilians.
6.      The war must obey the rule of proportionality – use only the minimum amount of force needed to achieve your objective.
It is our duty to examine the pronouncements of our government and determine if they indeed fit the requirements of a “just war.” If we find that the reasons for going to war do not fit these criteria, then we must do all in our power to see to it that we find another solution to the problem.
However, for those who wear the uniform and find themselves involved in a war they may consider unjust, let us recall the words of Alfred Lord Tennyson:
Half a league, half a league,Half a league onward,All in the valley of DeathRode the six hundred.”Forward, the Light Brigade!”Charge for the guns!” he said:Into the valley of DeathRode the six hundred.
“Forward, the Light Brigade!”Was there a man dismay'd?Not tho' the soldier knewSomeone had blunder'd:Theirs not to make reply,Theirs not to reason why,Theirs but to do and die:Into the valley of DeathRode the six hundred.
 
When can their glory fade?O the wild charge they made!All the world wondered.Honor the charge they made,Honor the Light Brigade,Noble six hundred.
For these honored dead, let us give thanks even as we pray that the day will soon come when “men shall beat their swords into plowshares and study war no more.” That will indeed be a day worth celebrating.
Shalom,
John