Thesis

Pacifist Nation – A Thesis

My basic thesis is stated on the introductory page, but there are a couple of additional points I would like to address.
One is the nature of pacifism. It does not derive from the word "passive", but rather from "pacific". The difference is significant. It is an ethic and a purpose. A pacifist is conscientiously opposed to killing. And as a pacifist one must strive to understand the root causes of war and work to eliminate them.
As conscientious citizens we can and should all be ethical pacifists. As Jew, Christian or Moslem, or of any religion that teaches that killing is wrong, our religion demands it. In the absence of a religious imperative our conscience must demand it as well.
Those of us who choose to participate in the defense of our country, who are willing to put ourselves at risk must ask ourselves where our mission lies. There are those who choose to be warriors. I respect and honor them. They are willing to physically defend me and mine with their lives. I choose to defend my country against its own fear, avarice and stupidity. I struggle in hopes that in some small measure I may prevent those boys and girls from having to sacrifice themselves for our failures. They may respect me for my effort or hate me for my failure, but I do what I can.

The other is how we as a nation choose to spend our precious resources. We have hospitals and surgeons. We also have soldiers and guns. It may be heretical for me as a professed pacifist to say this, but prudence demands we have all four. The question is, do we ignore prevention, nutrition, sanitation and all things prophylactic and build massive and massively over-staffed hospitals and prepare for tens of thousands of ER admissions? Not bloody likely, if we're smart. So. Do we ignore all the injustices of the world and just prepare for Armageddon? I don't know about you, but I'd rather not be a witness the End Of The World As We Know It. I want boy and girl soldiers to stay at home and make a happy baby or two or at least enjoy the effort.
That's why I'm a pacifist and why we pacifists can work and they soldiers can prepare and we should appreciate and respect each other and why our government should support us maybe even proportionately more than them if the people in the vast middle would rather prevent a war than wage one.
I don't know about you, but it seems a no-brainer to me.

My basic thesis is stated on the introductory page, but there are a couple of additional points I would like to address. One is the nature of pacifism. It does not derive from the word "passive", but rather from "pacific". The difference is significant. It is an ethic and a purpose. A pacifist is conscientiously opposed to killing. And as a pacifist one must strive to understand the root causes of war and work to eliminate them. As conscientious citizens we can and should all be ethical pacifists. As Jew, Christian or Moslem, or of any religion that teaches that killing is wrong, our religion demands it. In the absence of a religious imperative our conscience must demand it as well. Those of us who choose to participate in the defense of our country, who are willing to put ourselves at risk must ask ourselves where our mission lies. There are those who choose to be warriors. I respect and honor them. They are willing to physically defend me and mine with their lives. I choose to defend my country against its own fear, avarice and stupidity. I struggle in hopes that in some small measure I may prevent those boys and girls from having to sacrifice themselves for our failures. They may respect me for my effort or hate me for my failure, but I do what I can. The other is how we as a nation choose to spend our precious resources. We have hospitals and surgeons. We also have soldiers and guns. It may be heretical for me as a professed pacifist to say this, but prudence demands we have all four. The question is, do we ignore prevention, nutrition, sanitation and all things prophylactic and build massive and massively over-staffed hospitals and prepare for tens of thousands of ER admissions? Not bloody likely, if we're smart. So. Do we ignore all the injustices of the world and just prepare for Armageddon? I don't know about you, but I'd rather not be a witness the End Of The World As We Know It. I want boy and girl soldiers to stay at home and make a happy baby or two or at least enjoy the effort. That's why I'm a pacifist and why we pacifists can work and they soldiers can prepare and we should appreciate and respect each other and why our government should support us maybe even proportionately more than them if the people in the vast middle would rather prevent a war than wage one. I don't know about you, but it seems a no-brainer to me.

Pacifist Nation – A Thesis

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