Monday, July 11, 2011

Observations from the Coffee Shop 7.11

"What difference does it make to the dead, the orphans and the homeless, whether the mad destruction is wrought under the name of totalitarianism or in the holy name of liberty or democracy?"
Mahatma Gandhi

I started this post with that quote because it pretty much sums up my feelings and thoughts on war. Problem is no matter how much we would like war to be a thing of the past it will always be with us. The fall of the Berlin wall saw the 'end of war' until it didn't any longer. World War II was finally the end of war in Europe because it was just to terrible to ever let it happen again. After a millennium Europeans had finally learned their lesson until the former Yugoslavia exploded into the pieces of which it had been patched together after World War I, the first 'war to end all wars.' The history of every great empire, religion, nation, or people is drenched in blood. It may sound overly cynical but it's just a fact of human existence. Sometimes history haunts as well as teaches.

So why did I even bring this up? A couple days ago I posted a photo of a woman soldier in Afghanistan who is one of the first serving with the Army Special Forces (l). I was totally surprised when I ended up getting a couple of emails questioning why I was 'glorifying' war. I said she made me feel proud and I still feel that way but I thought maybe I should explain myself a little better. I'm proud because I see a woman doing the job she wants to, whether you agree with it or not, and in the process proving a woman is able to do any job a man can do. It's as simple as that.

As for glorifying war, read the opening quote.

Now I’ll get ready for the email that says I hate men. I’m sure I can count on my brother for that one.