Journeys tend to make us think. I guess it is the differences between the place you come and the place you are that drive one to meditate on them and on one's reactions to them.
Now, something that ought to be said of me is that I believe that every being has god-given* right to do with and of itself whatever it pleases. Also in need to be said is that I am a pacifist. I loath war and find it nothing but a legalized murder (in a vaguely related note: I do not oppose martial arts as they are a honing of the body and mind, and even if they are born in...but I digress, this is not the point). So... I hate war, I hate war, I hate war. There done, now back to the story.
Lucky for me I am blessed with living in a country that has had no wars with anyone since... the 18 hundreds (except for one or two civil wars), our participation in WWI is null, maybe some supplies, and in WWII... well we supposedly sent some planes, but they arrived riiiight at the end, so no. I mean there is a "war on drugs" at the moment (of which I disapprove, legalization is so much more mature and simple), but other than that the army is really more of a disaster relief thingy. Also I am lucky enough to be able to visit the States with relative frequency, but this means I am thus exposed to a rather militant culture, notably in the south. And while I am aware that the militarism of the USA gave it its first-power status, notably WWI and WWII, I also feel that this is not an era that needs it, or will find much use for it. And I have come to find aggravating the pride a nation may take on what I see as legal murder. And while I am fully aware that it is not my country, I am aware that this is my world and a war is an international incident.
So that's the bit on war, but I find the next bit more important. That is, Tolerance.
So, travels. I was over at SeaWorld enjoying myself. As it may be expected I went to see the killer whale show. Before it started they called for a salute to the armed forces, and asked all present militars to stand. The sole call was enough to get me going, it went: "heroes protecting the homeland abroad" or something by those lines. I mean the current war(s?) the US is in are not because someone else has invaded it, it started those wars. And it is fighting against the regimes it fed and nurtured during the Cold War to screw the Comunists! Plus I doubt it needs protecting abroad, it hasn't got any colonies, or any explicit interests there (real interests, ideologies are just excuses)... Gaaah!
My internal dialogue went along those lines as a video ran. Then when a kid, 17 years old (or that old he looked), stood well I just couldn't take it. I mean there was a kid, not yet out of highschool, already learning how to kill other men! Dark growling rants bubbled in my mind, and I was not going to shout them in an amphitheater full of soldiers and the like. So I kept my furious mumblings to my self, making me unable to enjoy the extremely kitschy show (all emotive manipulation and the like). Then they stopped. Nothing like a bucketful of cold salty water to cut one's train of thought.
Still the rage subsided but there was a strong annoyance inside of me as soon as the water evaporated and I could pinpoint it exactly. For starters was the presence of so many militars, and derived from that was the fact that a) I was too cowardly (or if you would have done the same: prudent) to express my feelings, b) the fact that I desired to do so went against my ideal of respecting other's freedom of choice, and c) I am loath to insult a country I wish to study in... and d) do you really want to call a bunch of militars "stupid" to their faces?
But the main reason of the vexation was B. My inability to accept that these fellows had chosen said fate created in me a strong cognitive dissonance that was very very irritating. Moreso as I recalled a certain someone of who I am rather fond of, and the fact that this someone has expressed a desire at participating in said institution (the military). I was driving myself nuttier that Mr. Peanut. And then, epiphany, I could accept and even embrace the uniforms.
The epiphany came in the shape of a couple sharing a frozen lemonade. I realized then that the soldiers were human (rather I grokked they were human), with all of the desires and hopes a human has. And I realized that some of them actually believe that what they do is right, that they are actually helping others by doing what they do. I mean there is no obligation to serve in the army, and yet this fellow chose that over a girl whom he deeply loved. I realized that there are some honorable men there, honest and good. And while I might not approve of their path, of their lifestyle, I respect it fully and welcome them as my brothers. And that awareness made my day.
So I wish them, the honorable, the just, those who believe in their cause, that their brightness is never tainted and joy.
-Namaste-
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