Patriotic holidays are tough for me.
Memorial Day may be the worst. On Saturday, I went to Wal-Mart (I know... that's part of the problem right there). There were some VFW veterans at the door with the little paper poppies. I said 'no, thanks' and felt like a complete heel. My beloved Gramps is a veteran as was my father's father, along with many men and women that I love and respect.
But here's the rub. The sacrifices made by veterans were made possible by their willingness to be used by our nation in war. Being a part of war entails participation in a life of violence. This is where I am, right now - I can't separate honoring veterans from condoning war. I can't justify wishing for peace while preparing for war. Every member of the armed forces - and the Quakers would remind me, every tax-paying American - is complicit in this life of violence.
We had a discussion recently among some church folks planning a new summer program for 2012. One potential program focused on peacemaking. At the bottom of the brochure, there was this quote, 'I will not teach my child to kill your child.' In discussing this program, one committee member voiced a potential conflict: her son has just joined the Marine Corps. She didn't feel as if she could whole-heartedly support a program centered on nonviolent peacemaking. "Oh no!" others enthused, "Marines are peacekeepers. There's no problem!"
NO.
While I don't wish this Marine's mom any ill will at all (in fact, I admire her forthright honesty), I disagree with the way her conflicting emotions about this program were swept under the rug. There's a difference in peacekeeping and peacemaking, at least in the way these words are used currently. Peacekeeping involves a threat of violence... much the same way a parent might enforce quiet in the backseat with the promise of a spanking. Peacemaking is harder by far, but it is the role we are called to fill.
Much of this post will sound familiar to those who know me or those who read The Big 3 with any regularity. See 'Wanted: a Peace Church.' Here's what I have to add that's a new insight for me. I've always been perplexed by my anti-war commitment. If you've ever considered pacifism as a moral position, you know the conflict to which I'm referring. It's the old 'so what would you do about Hitler?' question. Is pacifism a viable or practical solution to the complexity of conflicts between nations? Well, I don't know. Is this cowardice? Maybe. But it's my calling - to be the voice of the alternative, to show that a thoughtful person can make a commitment to nonviolence, to model peacemaking rather than the wider, easier road of peacekeeping. I don't have all the answers, but this is where I stand.
But what about that little poppy?