The Russian invasion of Ukraine has put my fellow peace activists in a bit of a conundrum. While we’ve dedicated most of our lives to decrying war, it’s difficult not to cheer a nation defending itself against a ruthless and murderous aggressor. To be honest, when I first saw clips of that legendary 40-mile long Russian convoy advancing on Kyiv, my reaction wasn’t to stand in front holding a sign and chanting prayers. I instead envisioned leading a flight of A-10 “Warthog” ground-attack fighters and blowing it to smithereens. An ironic thought because I was horrified when such an action occurred along the “Highway of Death” during the 1991 Gulf War.
Such a contradiction of reactions is nothing new. Back in 1967, pundits wondered why American Jews who protested the Vietnam War were cheering the Israeli victory during the Six-Day War. I was one of them and would have joined the Israel Defense Forces if I hadn’t been underage. From my viewpoint, such a dichotomy made sense. Israel was literally fighting for its life. We weren’t. Plus, seeing Jews a mere generation from Auschwitz armed with tanks and fighter planes felt good. The image of the frail Ghetto Jew cowering before grinning Nazis was replaced by the tough, grizzled Israeli paratrooper. Currently, I know few who weren’t moved by images of armed Ukrainian women staring defiantly into the camera.
What peace activists have always failed to understand is that there are those who love power, aggression and oppressing others. You can’t negotiate with them or appeal to their higher nature. They aren’t interested in meaningful discussions or compromising. If anything, they see such entreaties as weaknesses to be exploited and manipulated. Hitler played the Western democracies for suckers until they drew the line in Poland. Putin was moving troops to the Ukrainian border while pretending to consider peace talks.
The sad truth is that once these bullies are in play, peacemaking fails. Gandhi was unable to prevent Hitler and the Japanese militarists from starting World War II. For all her brilliance and dedication, local hero (and personal friend) Paula Green was unable to forestall the wars she spent her life cleaning up after. She could only get adversaries in the room after the smoke had cleared and the bodies were buried. On February 15, 2003, millions of Americans marched in the streets to protest the oncoming Iraq War. I was one of them but it was all to no avail. Cheney and the neo-Cons wanted their war and nothing was going to stop them.
You can psychobabble forever as to why megalomaniacs like Hitler, Putin and Trump behave as they do. Years ago, I read an ill-conceived essay explaining that Hitler and Saddam Hussein had mean, abusive daddies and should thus be better understood in this context. My response was that I also had a mean, abusive daddy but somehow avoided becoming a psychopathic mass murderer.
As far as war, this particular form of human sacrifice has been around since the beginning of human civilization whether it was two clans of hunter-gathers fighting over a water hole or two nations threatening mutual nuclear annihilation. Likewise, profiteering from conflict no doubt began when “Honest Argos” Nikomedes sold a caseload of shoddy spears to Agamemnon before the king sailed to Troy.
After peace marching from 1966 to 2003, I believe it no longer serves a pragmatic purpose. Universal peace will be achieved by human evolution not by legislative fiat. Someday in the future, humanity will hopefully have an “aha moment” and realize just how crazy, wasteful and self-destructive organized warfare is. In the meantime, it is imperative that we honor those of our countrymen and women who have chosen to serve in the military whatever their motives. To go into battle is the most terrifying experience I can imagine but those who do so in order to prevent the destruction of their families, friends and nations are in a special class by themselves. Hopefully, we will value their sacrifice while holding out the desire for a peaceful future devoid of fear and terror.
I’m sure this essay might discomfort some. The common cliché is that as people age, they become more conservative. I challenge that assumption. If I’m critical of progressives lately it is because we’ve hung on to entrenched attitudes that are blinding us at a time when we can’t afford myopia. In order to prevent our country from degenerating into a repressive right-wing autocracy, I believe that more realistic perceptions are necessary.
Daniel A. Brown lived in Franklin County for 44 years and is a frequent contributor to the Recorder. He lives in New Mexico with his wife, Lisa and dog, Cody.