We have to stop honoring war


Uploaded on May 29, 2011 by Henry Shivley

Charlie Madison:

I don’t trust people who make bitter reflections about war, Mrs. Barham. It’s always the generals with the bloodiest records who are the first to shout what a Hell it is. And it’s always the widows who lead the Memorial Day parades . . . we shall never end wars, Mrs. Barham, by blaming it on ministers and generals or warmongering imperialists or all the other banal bogies. It’s the rest of us who build statues to those generals and name boulevards after those ministers; the rest of us who make heroes of our dead and shrines of our battlefields. We wear our widows’ weeds like nuns and perpetuate war by exalting its sacrifices….

My brother died at Anzio — an everyday soldier’s death, no special heroism involved. They buried what pieces they found of him. But my mother insists he died a brave death and pretends to be very proud. . . . [N]ow my other brother can’t wait to reach enlistment age. That’ll be in September. May be ministers and generals who blunder us into wars, but the least the rest of us can do is to resist honoring the institution. What has my mother got for pretending bravery was admirable? She’s under constant sedation and terrified she may wake up one morning and find her last son has run off to be brave.

9 thoughts on “We have to stop honoring war

  1. That was one of the most brilliant anti-war conversations I’ve ever heard. Truly hope those were also his own sentiments cause they sure resonated with me. I’ve always liked James Garner but now, I think he’s the cat’s pajamas. I was really expecting a let down, but he knocked the ball right over the fence.

  2. *** We…perpetuate war by exalting its sacrifices… ***

    This is not only correct, it’s imperative that as many people as possible come to realize it. The more people worship the military and kiss the asses of “our” troops, the more young people will be encouraged to enlist, only to end up being used as pawns of the oligarchs. Then they spread suffering and misery around the world. Also, as a standing infantry, they endanger our freedom and our lives here in the “Homeland.”

    Naturally, some current and ex-military will take strong exception to those who suggest that they aren’t worthy of our highest praise. “You wish you had the balls to join the military,” is a common refrain. I’d reply with, “The reason I don’t join the military is the same reason I don’t join a street gang (which would actually require a lot more courage). It’s not because of fear, but because I oppose what those organizations do. And f–k you.”

    What gets me most of all on this issue is how most of the public fawns over the military and police, yet openly despises most politicians. Look at the dismal approval ratings for Congress, the president, and even the Supreme Court year after year. WHY OH WHY do people love the order-followers while at the same time admittedly hating the order-givers?! How does that make the least bit of sense? It’s cognitive dissonance, and it’s the direct result of relentless brainwashing and social pressure, and it needs to be fought at every turn.

    The military and the pigs exist SOLELY to enforce the orders of venal politicians, who themselves are under the control of big business, Zionists, and other oligarchs. This fact needs to be relentlessly hammered into the minds of Joe Sixpack and Sally Shopsalot until they finally get it.

  3. “May be ministers and generals who blunder us into wars, but the least the rest of us can do is to resist honoring the institution.”

    Those ‘ministers and generals who blunder us into wars’ should do their OWN damn fighting, and settle matters between THEMSELVES.

    Last man standing, and all that.

    Not that THAT would give him any claim to dominion over us.

  4. That’s right #1! If they want to fight so bad, if they are so filled with blood lust, then lead from the front you simpering MFer’s! Grab an AR and lead the charge into “enemy” lines! Nothing but a bunch of Lilly livered spineless jellyfish, sitting comfortably while sipping cognac hundreds or thousands of miles away while young men fight and die for your bank account. COWARDS ALL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    1. “War by Deception”.

      No one would fight their bloody wars if they truly understood exactly what they’re about, and exactly WHO is behind them, Bill.

      If they DID (truly understand), every stinking (Zionist, and like-minded) jew on the planet would be six feet under already.

  5. As they remove all the Confederate monuments maybe next they will remove all the National cemeteries as well. Seems like a lot of folks would rejoice in removing those as well.

    1. The National Cemeteries should be protected and all should be forced to look at them, as they are a monument to gullibility, wanton ignorance, and a service against our Bill of Rights and for internationalism. They emphasize a big f#@king mistake and a lie that we need to acknowledge in the hopes that we do not fill any more cemeteries with lies.

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