The Universe has a way of keeping things in balance

[GliderGuider]

And She's none too gentle about it either.

I got to celebrate Love yesterday just as I asked for. Then the Universe revealed the payment due.

It turns out that the polarity of 11/11/11 - twin flame love on one side and military remembrance on the other - was too much for me to hold. I tipped over into a harsh egoic head space without even noticing it. The expression of my "radical pacifism" in radical language was the result, both on here and on FB.

On FB my words triggered a wonderful, sweet, strong woman who is a veteran, part of a family with a long and proud military history, and who is also (unbeknownst to me at the time) struggling with the psychological aftershocks of having killed someone while defending a number of civilians. My intemperance caused her an enormous hurt. Worse than that, my self-absorption kept me from reading and understanding what she wrote in time to sort my shit out and salvage the situation. It has not only cost me her friendship, but it has damaged the prior relationship between her and my beloved Kathleen as well.

There is no way to absolve myself from this karmic transgression. The only atonement I have open is to learn from it.

I know I offended at least one person here yesterday, so I want to apologize unreservedly to WolverineDG. Personal beliefs aside, what I wrote was shitty. If there are others who were offended but didn't speak out - and I can feel that there were - please know that you have my heartfelt apology as well.

:-(

[Howler]

1. I did not take offense

And I come from a long long line of Air force officers and being an air force brat myself.Even married another officer Hows that for celebrating them
. :)
As you said the universe always strikes a balance and Pacifism and peace are a very important part of that .

I'm very sorry that anyones feelings were hurt.
I personally don't feel that the calling out and advocating for peace takes anything away from the military men and womens service and sacrifice for their country.
We each contribute to the whole according to our own innate talents and understandings. One's perceptions and deeds cannot nor will not cancel out or make less the others.


I always look forward to reading your posts. They are clear, articulate, and very heady. :hug: :grouphug:


Wish I had your talent and clarity with words.

[GliderGuider]

2. Thanks for that, Howler. I tend to overgeneralize, especially when I get triggered.

When I write from that place I don't leave enough room for the spectrum of human experience - I fall victim to black and white thinking.

Unfortunately, when I see societies determined to bring all service people under the banner of celebration, giving the same honour to people like Charles Graner and Clayton Matchee as they do to Smedley Butler and Romeo Dallaire, I react. In my reaction I begin to feel that if any service-people are unworthy of celebration, then none should be celebrated. It's hard to single out just the worthy when the mantra is a simple un-nuanced "support the troops" with an undertone of "My country, right or wrong." It happens just the same way here in Canada as it does in the US.

The challenge for people who feel this way is to express our opinions in a way that doesn't dishonour the honourable. I failed to meet that challenge, and the price of failure, as I discovered, can be high.

That's not intended as any kind of justification, just an illustration of how difficult ethical choices can be, here in the dualistic "real" world - especially when one's sense of self is invested in a belief.

[Howler]

3. Well

I have to say in my lifetime (I was born in 1959) War as been about money and resources always to feather the nest;s of the already filthy rich.
I guess my dividing line is separating the people who actually are sent over to fight on the front lines from the people who sit safely behind and orchestrate their own enrichment from all the death and destruction. To me they are the predators and murderous fiends.

People join the military for all different sorts of reasons.For some its the ONLY resource they have to obtain a higher education and better way of life.
For others it absolutely is an idealistic as well as physical contribution to this society.
For me these are Honorable endeavors.

However The politicians, and the wealthy elite that start and perpetuate these wars as well as benefit from them are an entirely different matter.
I also feel that it is past time that this country evolve and change so that this society is not totally built on and around constant war.

[GliderGuider]

4. There are many ways we can choose to serve our society

Do the Charles Graners of the world deserve to be honoured for their decision to serve, despite what they did when cloaked with the anonymity of the uniform? Not to mention the fighting soldiers of other nations. Do Soviet soldiers deserve honour for their invasion of Hungary, Belgian soldiers for fighting in the Congo, or Japanese soldiers in Nanking or etc. etc.

I have to say the idea of "honour for service" troubles me greatly. The caveat that "We are only honouring the worthy" doesn't seem to stand up to close scrutiny.

I don't really want to make a big deal out of this here, it's not really the place. It's just something my soul is having a very hard time chewing.

[Howler]

5. Whoa GG.

saying bad or psychotic soldiers are in anyway equivalent to the other soldiers and their motivations would be like me sayin saying or advocating that all civilians are like John wayne Gacey. JUst Not true.
Yes I would say all the soviet,Belgian and Japanese soldiers are most definitely worthy of the Honour. They fought for what they believed was the betterment and defense of their country. They put themselves in harms way for their countrymen.Sacrifices don't come any bigger then that.Regardless of what the governments and their leaders were trying to accomplish.Seems to me that these governments including our own were not worthy of these young men and women.
These young men and women deserve so much better.I feel that the very least I can do is respect and honor their service.I do much more when I get opportunities too. We all deserve so much better but it starts with each other because to our own government we are just a commodity....an expendable one at that.
and For me the definition of soldier also extends to the folks who fought in the american streets for civil and equal rights as well of the protests up to and including the OWS protesters!!! historically and presently those people have died and been beaten for what they believe is best for their country and countrymen.

It seems to me that your issue should be with the governments and leaders of these soldiers not with the questioning of worth or honor of the soldiers themselves.

The current protesters OWS seem to understand these distinctions quite well.

[GliderGuider]

6. There's a lot to think about there, thanks. Yes, my major problem is with governments.

That's not much of an issue these days. In the words of Phil Ochs, "It's always the old who lead us to the war, always the young who fall..."

Whenever I say I have a big problem with political leaders using their armies as an instrument of foreign policy, people always say, "Of course! But you support the troops, right?" And I get stuck.

When I read about Jainism my heart sees a reflection of itself. When I think about conscientious objectors who have been willing to die rather than kill, that seems like a much bigger self-sacrifice (in the literal sense of "making oneself sacred") than signing up to do violence to others for even the noblest of motives.

We're lucky this is a very big universe with room for everything.

[Howler]

7. GG.

I would say that the Soldiers and the Conscientious Objectors as well as the civil rights activists,the peace protesters,code pink,gay rights activists,Anonymous,wikileaks,Computer hackers(some)OWS,ect are all soldiers one way or another.
Its just different choices and strategies in how to fight the battles.All are worthy of respect,a place of honor,and reverence.
None of these paths are for the weak of heart and ALL of these paths taken are taken out of love and duty.Sooooo


So heres to All of the soldiers,and heres to you too.


THANK YOU! for all that you do and all that you've given.
You all have made a positive difference. :hug: :grouphug:

[GliderGuider]

8. Yes.

To all of it.

And thank you very much, Howler. :thumbsup:

[kimmerspixelated]

9. I agree with Howler, and love your posts.

No offense here.:hi:

[WolverineDG]

10. I understand

I don't like war, or glorifying it. But sometimes, it is necessary. I had relatives who fought in WWII; none of them wanted to go, but they all enlisted because it was the right thing to do. They never bragged about what they did during the war, either, even though several of them received medals, including the Purple Heart. Calling them "murderers" was offensive to me.

There's a big difference between people like them & the macho "kill 'em all, let God sort 'em out" idiots, who are mostly draft-evaders & chicken hawks anyway. Those people I cannot stomach & are murderers in my book.

:hug:

dg

[Howler]

11. WolverineDG

You are such a lady!!! I just love you!
Even though you gave up writting about the housewives or as I call them "The mean girls" lol!

[WolverineDG]

12. Well, it got to the point where it reminded me too much of

my days in the drama department at the university I attended, so I had to give it up. Plus it seemed that the kind of behavior I was snarking on was being "rewarded," so I decided to stop rewarding it. :) (does that make sense?)

I'm now using those creative juices on stage, because my next part is Hecate. :evilgrin:

dg

[Howler]

13. Youre Right. of course.

Besides you got your own life going on there WDG.

Hmmmmmmm Hecate? GO HECATE!!!!!

[GliderGuider]

14. Thank you.

I really appreciate your words. I'll use them to help me introduce some more shades of grey into my views. :hug:.