[Peace-discuss] Mort's comments

[Bob Illyes]

Being a soldier, like being a policeman, is a legitimate career
choice, Mort. The legitimate purpose is to protect the peace by
preventing crime, both personal and international. In order to
do this, they must be prepared on occasion to meet violence with
violence, which is why they carry and sometimes use guns.
When they are used for aggressive purpose instead, it is to the
political leadership that one must look for blame, and to the
people who back that leadership.

Soldiers and police are scarcely angels. None of us are, and they
are as a group no better or worse than any of the rest of us.
Most of them, like most of us, entered their line of work with
reasonably good intentions and with some trust that they would
not be misused. They are being misused in Iraq, and they were
misused in Vietnam, with awful consequences. The returning
veterans who have sold out to evil are in the minority. Most
are reasonably decent people who have been thrown into a situation
that no one should ever be thrown into, and are seriously
traumatized by the experience. They deserve our kindness, not our
contempt.

If we are to use the referenda we just got on the ballot to
advantage, we must use them as a starting point of a conversation
with the other side. If we demonize them, this conversation will
not happen and no minds will be changed.

If you've read the stuff I write for the Public i, you'll see that
my main concern is attacks on the Bill of Rights, particular the
First Amendment. This concerns me much more that war. There has
been (as you know) a long-term systematic attack on the First
Amendment that has its roots in McCarthy. We would not be in
Iraq now if the press had not failed us. I think that direct
democracy may be our best bet, and the referenda give us a fine
opportunity to have a conversation that is long overdue regarding
the war, the press, the constitution, and the actual intentions
of our representatives.

One must not forget that the people are sovereign, that they hold
real and ultimate power. We can only be ruled by the few if they
can divide us. What we need to do is connect, not demonize each
other. The administration knows this, and their intent is division.
If we play into their hands, they will win. Perhaps they will, but
I believe the ball is now in our court. Will we use this advantage
wisely?

Bob