Confessions of a Tough-Minded Pacifist
I have, throughout my life, maintained a deep, unwavering belief in the principle of pacifism. I first embraced pacifism during my teen years in the late 1960s, as a gut response to the horror of the monstrous war that America was waging in Vietnam. Reading descriptions of the war in newspapers and magazines, and seeing nightly reports of the sickening bloodshed on television, caused me to conclude that I could never be a soldier. I felt an utter loathing toward guns and violence. As I pondered my situation, I came to believe that all wars were unjust and immoral, and I vowed that I would never take part in the destruction of human life.
Although I had been a citizen of the United Kingdom from birth, born in England to an English mother, I had received American citizenship through my American father and was a resident of the United States, which rendered me eligible to be called up, but my pacifist sensibilities prompted me to take a forthright stand against the war in Vietnam. I attended a number of demonstrations against the war, loudly voicing my opposition at every opportunity. Living in the Bay Area, where open condemnation of the war was widespread, strengthened my own feeling of resistance. I knew beyond any doubt that I was not willing to kill for America.
After years of useless conflict, the war in Vietnam came to an end in 1975, and most Americans soon turned their minds to other things. In my own case, although the war had ended and I had escaped the grim prospect of being harvested for the purpose of serving in battle, I continued to regard myself as a pacifist, never doubting that an active opposition to war is the only way to bring a lasting measure of peace to the world. While many people blithely promote war as an estimable adventure, I am committed to the belief that war represents a complete breakdown in the essential structure of human governance, and should always be understood as an abject example of grievous wrongdoing.
It is not easy to be a pacifist in America (or anywhere else, for that matter). Most Americans, inclined to bellicosity after having been heavily conditioned by many generations of constant warmongering, tend to reject pacifism out of hand, believing that an unwillingness to take up arms in defense of America is evidence of a bad character. In their view, America must be prepared to strike hard against its foreign enemies. Using force against civilians, while admittedly unfortunate, can be justified, they say. War is sometimes necessary, they claim. Being a pacifist, to most Americans, is the same as being a coward and an appeaser.
These thoughtless opinions have prevailed for too long, allowing repeated acts of slaughter to be carried out and casually excused. Accepting the "necessity" of war always makes it more likely that war will happen. Why is war regarded as being more acceptable than peace? Why is violence considered to be more courageous than nonviolence? Why is mindless killing generally chosen over sober attempts at honest discussion? Why is servile loyalty to one's country always put ahead of our common bond as human beings? Why are millions of "upright" citizens willing to support the murder of civilians?
The true experience of war is not acceptable and not courageous. In every war, the same lies are told and the same follies are falsely glorified. Those who keep themselves out of danger may pretend that defenseless people are not being killed, and those who actually do the killing may not admit their own guilt, but the murderous truth remains, and can never be totally whitewashed. The dreadful screams of frightened children during wartime are an accusation that is too strong to be denied. All wars are a brazen offense against fundamental standards of morality. All wars are evil and needless. All wars breed hate, misery, and despair.
In 1991, under the leadership of President George H.W. Bush, America went to war in the Persian Gulf, wantonly killing thousands of civilians and compelling me to take to the streets with crowds of like-minded people, to protest in the same way that I had protested during the war in Vietnam. It seemed that America had failed to learn any lessons from its well-known mistakes of the past, and was still bent on willfully pursuing its violent delusions of martial triumph. Then, in March, 2003, under the leadership of President George W. Bush (the son of George H.W. Bush), America was at war in the Middle East again, recklessly invading Iraq, and once more I was compelled to speak out, giving voice to my opposition and my anger.
The war that America waged against Iraq was a stark, unpardonable act of deliberate savagery, one nation using the full power of its brute strength to prey on, and destroy, a weaker nation. Once again, American forces were sent abroad, to conquer the helpless inhabitants of a distant land. Once again, many thousands of men, women, and children, who posed no threat to the security of America, were murdered by American weapons, while most Americans happily observed, making no objection whatsoever. Once again, those comparative few who did raise their voices to oppose the war were widely reviled as traitors.
At the height of the war in Iraq, the outlook became much worse, and then went thoroughly out of control, inevitably descending into an unbridled hell of bloodthirsty madness. Troops advanced and tanks rolled. Thousands of bombs were dropped and hundreds of missiles flew. Soldiers on both sides were cut down and civilians were pitilessly blown to pieces. On the home front, most Americans easily yielded to the shameful allure of blind patriotism, waving American flags and expressing ugly pride in the brutal actions of their country. Why is it that Americans appear to be happiest when they have a war to celebrate?
Years later, with thousands of American troops still in Iraq, and thousands more in Afghanistan (owing to the policies of President Barack Obama), the need to resist war is more pressing than ever. I say that in any so-called democracy in which freedom of speech is supposedly regarded as an acknowledged right, available to all, offering an outspoken resistance to the abominable mind-set of warfare is a moral obligation. Hiding behind a veil of comfortable sentiments is not enough. We all must stand up and be counted, as citizens and as human beings. The quality of our citizenship, and the depth of our humanity, is determined by our willingness to oppose the evil that is done in our collective name.
I choose pacifism because no other choice is morally acceptable to me. However, I am no starry-eyed dreamer. I prefer to think of myself as a tough-minded pacifist. A hard-bitten peacenik who knows the score. I am well aware that my lifelong desire for a peaceful world is no more than a frail dream, a dream that will probably never reach fruition. Everywhere, it seems, there is more war and less peace. Mass killing happens with appalling frequency in the 21st century, and is usually taken for granted, quickly forgotten by those who are not under fire. America, in particular, has repeatedly proven itself to have no qualms in regard to using war as a means of getting its own way.
My own view of war has never changed: I know that nothing good ever comes from the malicious use of extreme force. As a pacifist, I am constrained to believe in a higher ethic, an ethic that is more worthy than any act of violence. I believe in an ethic that seeks to transcend the unhealthy bounds of fear and suspicion. I believe in an ethic that requires all people to resolve their disputes through a process of mature reasoning, not through violent means. I believe in an ethic that raises mutual benefit above one-sided gain. Most of all, I believe in an ethic that unfailingly affirms the sacred, absolute value of human life.
I am quite certain that without the guidance of such an ethic, we are lost, with little chance of survival. A total rejection of war and violence is the only way forward. The hideous cycle of wholesale homicide must be stopped, once and for all. If we do not firmly renounce the ways of war, if we do not abandon our shortsighted reliance on weapons, then we are ensuring our own doom. If our current foolishness ever goes too far, as it easily could, and propels us into nuclear war, it will mean the end of everything. As Martin Luther King, Jr. once eloquently stated, "Wisdom born of experience should tell us that war is obsolete."
One bleak question, difficult and disheartening, hangs over our fate. How can peace ever begin to happen, on a planet where there is so much conflict? The answer to that question is clear and self-evident. Peace can begin to happen only when people refuse to fight, refuse to kill, refuse to serve as soldiers, refuse to allow the revenue from taxes to be directed toward the purchase of weapons, refuse to be deceived and distracted by expedient falsehoods, refuse to support the depraved policies of corrupt leaders, and refuse to accept war as a path to glory. Only then can there be any hope of achieving peace in our world.
Although I had been a citizen of the United Kingdom from birth, born in England to an English mother, I had received American citizenship through my American father and was a resident of the United States, which rendered me eligible to be called up, but my pacifist sensibilities prompted me to take a forthright stand against the war in Vietnam. I attended a number of demonstrations against the war, loudly voicing my opposition at every opportunity. Living in the Bay Area, where open condemnation of the war was widespread, strengthened my own feeling of resistance. I knew beyond any doubt that I was not willing to kill for America.
After years of useless conflict, the war in Vietnam came to an end in 1975, and most Americans soon turned their minds to other things. In my own case, although the war had ended and I had escaped the grim prospect of being harvested for the purpose of serving in battle, I continued to regard myself as a pacifist, never doubting that an active opposition to war is the only way to bring a lasting measure of peace to the world. While many people blithely promote war as an estimable adventure, I am committed to the belief that war represents a complete breakdown in the essential structure of human governance, and should always be understood as an abject example of grievous wrongdoing.
It is not easy to be a pacifist in America (or anywhere else, for that matter). Most Americans, inclined to bellicosity after having been heavily conditioned by many generations of constant warmongering, tend to reject pacifism out of hand, believing that an unwillingness to take up arms in defense of America is evidence of a bad character. In their view, America must be prepared to strike hard against its foreign enemies. Using force against civilians, while admittedly unfortunate, can be justified, they say. War is sometimes necessary, they claim. Being a pacifist, to most Americans, is the same as being a coward and an appeaser.
These thoughtless opinions have prevailed for too long, allowing repeated acts of slaughter to be carried out and casually excused. Accepting the "necessity" of war always makes it more likely that war will happen. Why is war regarded as being more acceptable than peace? Why is violence considered to be more courageous than nonviolence? Why is mindless killing generally chosen over sober attempts at honest discussion? Why is servile loyalty to one's country always put ahead of our common bond as human beings? Why are millions of "upright" citizens willing to support the murder of civilians?
The true experience of war is not acceptable and not courageous. In every war, the same lies are told and the same follies are falsely glorified. Those who keep themselves out of danger may pretend that defenseless people are not being killed, and those who actually do the killing may not admit their own guilt, but the murderous truth remains, and can never be totally whitewashed. The dreadful screams of frightened children during wartime are an accusation that is too strong to be denied. All wars are a brazen offense against fundamental standards of morality. All wars are evil and needless. All wars breed hate, misery, and despair.
In 1991, under the leadership of President George H.W. Bush, America went to war in the Persian Gulf, wantonly killing thousands of civilians and compelling me to take to the streets with crowds of like-minded people, to protest in the same way that I had protested during the war in Vietnam. It seemed that America had failed to learn any lessons from its well-known mistakes of the past, and was still bent on willfully pursuing its violent delusions of martial triumph. Then, in March, 2003, under the leadership of President George W. Bush (the son of George H.W. Bush), America was at war in the Middle East again, recklessly invading Iraq, and once more I was compelled to speak out, giving voice to my opposition and my anger.
The war that America waged against Iraq was a stark, unpardonable act of deliberate savagery, one nation using the full power of its brute strength to prey on, and destroy, a weaker nation. Once again, American forces were sent abroad, to conquer the helpless inhabitants of a distant land. Once again, many thousands of men, women, and children, who posed no threat to the security of America, were murdered by American weapons, while most Americans happily observed, making no objection whatsoever. Once again, those comparative few who did raise their voices to oppose the war were widely reviled as traitors.
At the height of the war in Iraq, the outlook became much worse, and then went thoroughly out of control, inevitably descending into an unbridled hell of bloodthirsty madness. Troops advanced and tanks rolled. Thousands of bombs were dropped and hundreds of missiles flew. Soldiers on both sides were cut down and civilians were pitilessly blown to pieces. On the home front, most Americans easily yielded to the shameful allure of blind patriotism, waving American flags and expressing ugly pride in the brutal actions of their country. Why is it that Americans appear to be happiest when they have a war to celebrate?
Years later, with thousands of American troops still in Iraq, and thousands more in Afghanistan (owing to the policies of President Barack Obama), the need to resist war is more pressing than ever. I say that in any so-called democracy in which freedom of speech is supposedly regarded as an acknowledged right, available to all, offering an outspoken resistance to the abominable mind-set of warfare is a moral obligation. Hiding behind a veil of comfortable sentiments is not enough. We all must stand up and be counted, as citizens and as human beings. The quality of our citizenship, and the depth of our humanity, is determined by our willingness to oppose the evil that is done in our collective name.
I choose pacifism because no other choice is morally acceptable to me. However, I am no starry-eyed dreamer. I prefer to think of myself as a tough-minded pacifist. A hard-bitten peacenik who knows the score. I am well aware that my lifelong desire for a peaceful world is no more than a frail dream, a dream that will probably never reach fruition. Everywhere, it seems, there is more war and less peace. Mass killing happens with appalling frequency in the 21st century, and is usually taken for granted, quickly forgotten by those who are not under fire. America, in particular, has repeatedly proven itself to have no qualms in regard to using war as a means of getting its own way.
My own view of war has never changed: I know that nothing good ever comes from the malicious use of extreme force. As a pacifist, I am constrained to believe in a higher ethic, an ethic that is more worthy than any act of violence. I believe in an ethic that seeks to transcend the unhealthy bounds of fear and suspicion. I believe in an ethic that requires all people to resolve their disputes through a process of mature reasoning, not through violent means. I believe in an ethic that raises mutual benefit above one-sided gain. Most of all, I believe in an ethic that unfailingly affirms the sacred, absolute value of human life.
I am quite certain that without the guidance of such an ethic, we are lost, with little chance of survival. A total rejection of war and violence is the only way forward. The hideous cycle of wholesale homicide must be stopped, once and for all. If we do not firmly renounce the ways of war, if we do not abandon our shortsighted reliance on weapons, then we are ensuring our own doom. If our current foolishness ever goes too far, as it easily could, and propels us into nuclear war, it will mean the end of everything. As Martin Luther King, Jr. once eloquently stated, "Wisdom born of experience should tell us that war is obsolete."
One bleak question, difficult and disheartening, hangs over our fate. How can peace ever begin to happen, on a planet where there is so much conflict? The answer to that question is clear and self-evident. Peace can begin to happen only when people refuse to fight, refuse to kill, refuse to serve as soldiers, refuse to allow the revenue from taxes to be directed toward the purchase of weapons, refuse to be deceived and distracted by expedient falsehoods, refuse to support the depraved policies of corrupt leaders, and refuse to accept war as a path to glory. Only then can there be any hope of achieving peace in our world.