I think I have been rather vocal about my objection to violence, war and military. Ironic given that I married a career Army man, but through him I have gained great insight into what makes the military tick and though many negative opinions have been reinforced or formed anew (they are seriously bad at planning anything in advance) I am also proud of the positive contributions our armed services make. It’s easy to dislike or disparage something without taking the time to really understand it and before the husband that was where I found myself. Now, I feel more educated and enlightened about the functionality and ideology of the military and while I’m never going to be a fan of some aspects, it is at times when great tragedy strikes such as the Haiti earthquake that I am the most proud.
Despite my objections to the violence we level against other nations and their people I am cognizant that we do not live in a peaceful society and so a strong military presence is necessary. What impresses me, however, is that despite fighting wars on two fronts stretching both our military budget and resources we are now putting tremendous effort into helping Haiti. Less than a day after the devastation and entire Army units are being mobilized to travel to Haiti. At least one Navy ship is currently on its way, I’m sure the Marines are doing something and the Air Force is . . . well, I’m not sure what they do exactly, but let’s keep a positive thought.
Anyway, it is nice for me, as the wife of an Army guy to have something concrete to be proud of. I know many people will say I should be proud because he defends my freedoms, but that argument is lame. He’s not. That war was won a long time ago. When we fight now it is not about our freedom, that is a trite sentiment, but I’ll let the people hold onto it. I am a pacifist, not ever digging the war part, so it is the humanitarian efforts that make me proud. To know that our service members suffer through near intolerable living conditions in locations all around the world just to try to help is honorable. They sign on to this ambiguous body and once they do they do not get to decide where they will be or what they will be doing, be it war or peace and that kind of blind commitment to anything with the overriding hope of doing good is noble and admirable.
Yes, I hate war. I hate that the husband carries weapons when deployed and does live fire training (a great many injuries and some deaths occur during training, not just war) when he is supposedly home safe. What I would hate more, however, is if he never did anything that he thought might help the world. I might see the military as a bit misguided in terms of humanitarianism (it’s not the Peace Corps), but he believes in it and that is enough. We are sending supplies and personnel to Haiti without a second thought. We have the money, power and resources to invade a nation, but also to help one greatly in need and I am just so very grateful that we still remember that. So today I am proud of my husband and all the men and women in military service. What they do can have a positive impact on the world. We cannot erase hundreds of thousands of lost lives, but we can try to make it better for those that survived. I guess I’m proud to be an American after all.
I love your statement, and I think you and Jeff are the ultimate match for real discussions about what it means to be a patriot.
ReplyDeleteGreat thoughts! Thank you for your blog.
I'd like to reflect on your response to the statement, "They fight for our freedom" as being a bit trite. I believe they do fight for our freedoms. Yes, freedom has already been earned on mostl fronts.. our country is free to form governement and policies, we have the right to bear arms, speak freely and practice religion, women and all races have the right to vote (hey, even some dead people still cast a ballot)
.... But the freedoms they fight for now are for our right to continue in these freedoms and to simply be alive (I think most of us qualify as the Infandels to whom the Jihads have promised death). The wars we fight, right and wrong, are typically against people who don't believe in democracy. And of course, we are fighting for the right to use oil ad nauseum, but that's another debate.
I do thank the troops for fighting for my freedoms. As imperfect as they are, I've grown rather attached and I'd like to keep them.