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Views can only take us so far, correct or not. I don't ask you to mimic my views, but please investigate where pacifism, especially as practiced by the Buddha, comes from, and do not assume either that it is synonymous with inaction, cowardice or lack of conviction, or that criticism of violence, and its effect on our lives, is a personal attack on your family, which I did not intend.
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DavidA human residing in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. Ancestral territory of the Erie, Haudenosaunee, Huron-Wendat, Mississauga and Neutral First NationsVeteran
It is a challenging topic.
But, there's a general attitude on this forum that in regard to Tibet that "somebody should do something". Like what that would actually work other than a military action?
If you do it for Tibet, you have to do it for everybody... A global community where borders are for preferential reasons only. I'm all for it.
As to whether soldiers are heros depends on the person I think. I won't call a person a hero simply because he/she served in war.
War often times brings out the heros as described by our friend @Tosh on another thread. He didn't describe himself as a hero but I bet he is a hero to the ones he helped get fed and he's a good example of a war time hero to me.
Your heroes are a personal choice for personal reasons, and there is no forced standard... Memorial Day is an opportunity set aside for those who recognize the military and their sacrifices, or to just remember loved ones who have passed. Just like there is a Christmas, but if you decide not to participate, then enjoy the day in your own way, why worry about what others think?
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zombiegirlbeating the drum of the lifelessin a dry wastelandVeteran
I have trouble idolizing veterans and military folk. I feel more a mixture of sadness and compassion.
I just found out that a guy I grew up with was recently discharged with a severe case of PTSD. His girlfriend dumped him and even his close friends say they don't recognize him anymore. The things that my friends told me they found out he had to do... are unthinkables. I don't know that I should idolize him. I feel very sad for him and it makes me feel sick to my stomach that my country made him do those things.
But I guess... somebody's got to do it, or we'd end up like Tibet with no means of defense. Perhaps I'm not disappointed in the soldiers, just my government. I heard it said once that something like PTSD is not abnormal, it's a completely normal response to an absolutely fucked up situation. This all makes me feel a mixture of gratitude, because I don't have to do it, and perhaps penitence on behalf of my government for the whole mess anyways.
Hi, zombiegirl. I'm sorry about your friend, and I completely agree that PTSD is not abnormal, but medical definitions tend to serve the consensus. If society says it's normal to kill, then having issues with that has to be defined as a defect.
But I guess... somebody's got to do it, or we'd end up like Tibet with no means of defense.
This seems like common sense, but the Buddha said:
"Those who engage in bodily misconduct, verbal misconduct, & mental misconduct leave themselves unprotected. Even though a squadron of elephant troops might protect them, a squadron of cavalry troops, a squadron of chariot troops, a squadron of infantry troops might protect them, still they leave themselves unprotected. Why is that? Because that's an external protection, not an internal one. Therefore they leave themselves unprotected. But those who engage in good bodily conduct, good verbal conduct, & good mental conduct have themselves protected. Even though neither a squadron of elephant troops, a squadron of cavalry troops, a squadron of chariot troops, nor a squadron of infantry troops might protect them, still they have themselves protected. Why is that? Because that's an internal protection, not an external one. Therefore they have themselves protected."
If it wasn't for the volunteers, you'd be out there doing the job instead.
That's an argument against war, not an argument for soldiery.
They are going through this so I do not have to be drafted and find myself somewhere else, being forced to kill someone for something I do not agree with.
Your heroes are forced to kill people for something you/they don't agree with? I don't think you've thought this through.
What would you have me do then? Governments are going to fight wars whether we like it or not. People volunteer for it for a multitude of reasons, one of those reasons being "I will do this so others will not have to, so they can live in peace" That is a pretty heroic decision for someone to make. I'm not saying this is the reason behind every volunteer's recruitment, but it is there.
One of the problems is that "soldier" is such a broadly used term. It is used to describe the man who was drafted in WWII and who helped liberate the Death Camps, the volunteer who joined the National Guard to earn a few extra dollars for his family one weekend a month but who ended up deployed to Afghanistan, and the giggling sociopath in a basement making a bomb to blow up an abortion clinic.
Comments
There are no winners in war: only an endless cycle of king of the hill.
Would you give your right hand a medal of honor for cutting off your left hand?
Thank you @Jason, as usual you have provided a well thought out and referenced post.
As to whether soldiers are heros depends on the person I think. I won't call a person a hero simply because he/she served in war.
War often times brings out the heros as described by our friend @Tosh on another thread. He didn't describe himself as a hero but I bet he is a hero to the ones he helped get fed and he's a good example of a war time hero to me.
(Sorry for singling you out Tosh)
I just found out that a guy I grew up with was recently discharged with a severe case of PTSD. His girlfriend dumped him and even his close friends say they don't recognize him anymore. The things that my friends told me they found out he had to do... are unthinkables. I don't know that I should idolize him. I feel very sad for him and it makes me feel sick to my stomach that my country made him do those things.
But I guess... somebody's got to do it, or we'd end up like Tibet with no means of defense. Perhaps I'm not disappointed in the soldiers, just my government. I heard it said once that something like PTSD is not abnormal, it's a completely normal response to an absolutely fucked up situation. This all makes me feel a mixture of gratitude, because I don't have to do it, and perhaps penitence on behalf of my government for the whole mess anyways.