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| Armistice Day Headlines (Public Domain) |
Eisenhower, whom few would dispute was a praiseworthy veteran, had this to say: I hate war as only a soldier
who has lived it can, only as one who has
seen its brutality, its
futility, its
stupidity. He also had this to say about war's tragic waste: Every gun that is made, every
warship launched, every rocket fired, signifies
in the final sense a theft from
those who hunger and are not fed, those
who are cold and are not clothed.
A country that tends to think of itself as "Christian" might wish to thoughtfully contrast Eisenhower's latter observation with this quote from Matthew 25 (NIV): 'Come, you who are
blessed by my Father; Take your inheritance,
the kingdom prepared for you since the
beginning of the world. For I was hungry and you
gave me something to
eat… I needed clothes
and you clothed me…'
These Eisenhower statements seem very much in line with the mission of Veterans for Peace (VFP). The VFP
website states the following: We, having dutifully served our nation, do hereby
affirm our greater responsibility to
serve the cause of world peace. To this end we will work, with others to increase
public awareness of the costs of war…
Why, then, shouldn't these Veterans for Peace be proudly welcomed into any Veterans Day commemoration? And yet, some members of the City of Auburn, Washington had tried to ban the VFP contingent from marching in their 2012 Veterans Day Parade. Perhaps a reminder that Veterans Day was originally called Armistice Day (and still is in some countries) is long overdue...
Resources
http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/d/dwight_d_eisenhower.html
http://www.veteransforpeace.org/who-we-are/our-mission/
http://blogs.seattletimes.com/today/2012/11/judge-orders-auburn-to-allow-anti-war-vets-group-to-march-in-parade/
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