Thinking of Soldiers and Sailors

Memorial Day can be a time to reflect on those who died in war. I am very sorry for the victims of war, including the loved ones left behind, and I hate to see the perpetrators of war use Memorial Day as an opportunity to glorify war and themselves. Accordingly, I avoid any ceremony involving politicians' laying wreaths and any martial parade.

Often, in response to criticism of war, I will be told that if I am correct in my assessment the men and women who died in that war "will have died in vain". GW Bush pulled this in the Presidential debates. This is supposed to end the discussion, but I readily concede that this is the case. Every last soldier, sailor, marine or airman who got killed in a war died in vain. They probably sincerely believed that they were giving their lives in furtherance of some noble cause, but this was because they believed the lies of the warmongers. This makes their sacrifice all the more tragic, but deluding ourselves about the vanity of war just makes the next war easier to wage. Recognizing this truth does not detract from the honor due to the fallen warriors; rather, it detracts from the honor wrongly claimed by the warmongers.

Let us keep Memorial Day as a reminder of the costs and the vanity of war. Let it serve as an opportunity to decry war and to expose warmongers as the evil men and women that they are. Let us mourn for the fallen warriors of all nations and the fallen civilian casualties of war, and let us count up the cost for the accounting that may someday be had.