Why is it unpatriotic to think that war is a terrible thing, to be avoided at all costs?

Question

I consider myself patriotic, but not mindlessly so. I support those who have and are serving in the Armed Forces both materially, and by paying attention to political issues that affect veterans and voting accordingly. At the same time, I find myself blanching at the attitude of some who almost cheer for war, who speak of it as a glorious undertaking. I can't think of it, or of the things our men and women have to do for reasons I sometimes can't justify in my head or heart, nor the things some have to live with afterwards for the rest of their lives, as anything but tragedy. If anything positive can be gleaned from it, I feel it is due to the personal commitment of the men and women who are serving or have served, not due to any governmental policy involved with war itself. In some circles, I've been called everything from a traitor to a hippie to a commie for stating these opinions. How can honoring our troops enough to believe that their lives are precious be unpatriotic?

Answer 1

your attitude is more patriotic than most. People lately seem to be forgetting that this very country was founded on the principles of always questioning your government and making sure it is acting in the best interest of the people. In fact - if the founders of this country were around now I think they'd be staging a revolution.

I get called those things too. I think it is important to support the troops - because they are not what is wrong here - it is the administration and the people's bizarre willingness to let this nonsense continue.

"Liberal" has become almost a dirty word in politics in recent years - but it's one I proudly wear front and center. True patriotism includes questioning these things and thinking about them critically - not the common conservative response that we must respect our president . . . yada yada yda.

P.S. I am engaged to an Army Officer who has served in both Afghanistan and Iraq. I'm extremely proud of him because he has done some really wonderful things in his service. I not only understand what the soldiers face, but what their families face as well. Like I said - it is so important to support the soldiers who are simply doing thier jobs (and it is a job to be respected). That does NOT mean you have to support the reason that they've been put in harm's way to begin with.

Answer 2

Jennifer, it happens that I believe you are right. Only an irrational person glories in war, and you will find that true of the men and women who have to fight those wars, too. The vast majority of them would much rather be home with their families instead of hunkered down in some foxhole or behind some wall in a firefight. War most definitely should be avoided, but I stop short of the "at all costs" portion of your question. If we were a truly pacific nation, it wouldn't be our nation for long. Human nature requires that we rattle the saber occasionally, and sometimes withdraw it. You wouldn't be safe in your home, otherwise. And for the record, I don't consider you a traitor or a hippie or anything other than a concerned individual. I spent a lot of my life insuring your right to have AND voice that opinion. Take care, little one.

Answer 3

No, it incredibly is unquestionably no longer unpatriotic. i visit pass a step better and say you do no longer even would desire to assist the troops at this evaluate time to be patriotic because of the fact they're serving an unlawful time table. I certainly have served interior the army in Iraq and that i do no longer supply a rattling what all people says, the troops are no longer preserving usa over there, they are no longer attaining lots of something for that rely, a marvelous type of the folk I met interior the army did no longer hook up with serve their usa they joined for college money and to get themselves out of notwithstanding rut they have been in, it incredibly is the sorrowful certainty. people can swear up and down until eventually they're blue interior the face that the troops are heroes and are making super sacrifices, as a rely of actuality they're only being exploited by ability of the U.S. government for some exceptionally pathetic advantages. a real patriot stands up for what's right in spite of what the troops are doing and what the well-known public opinion is and somebody who extremely cares on the subject of the troops can not help them because of the fact they're committing crimes against humanity.

Answer 4

Patriotism has nothing to do with it: that's just a cheap insult to silence you, by people who have no better argument. Same with pretending you only honour troops by mindlessly supporting the government (self-evidently two very different institutions).

War is very bad and is something to be avoided. But sometimes it's the only way to stop people who exploit passivity to get away with evil. Sometimes injustice cannot be stopped any other way. Ideally, there should be no other option but war.

BUT: without a grave injustice to prompt it, war is not worth it. If anyone wants you to support a war, you have to demand they commit to principles of justice, not personal gain. If someone is CHOOSING a war they could avoid, be very suspicious, especially if they and their loved ones are safe and sound at home, making a lot of money. If they honour the troops, why can't they make the war a not-for-profit exercise to show their good faith?

Sending an army into fight without grave reasons and very sound plans is the worst insult you can do to soldiers: did Hitler 'support his troops' by sending them to Stalingrad? At least Hitler wasn't personally making large financial gains from his war.

Answer 5

Most people agreed that war is a terrible thing. I disagree about to be avoided at all cost.

My essential reasoning is that in 1939 Chamberlain' Munich Agreement. Appeasement with a threat does not solve problems because this buys the enemy more time and stopping them later will cost more in human lives.

Answer 6

The people who support THIS war are people who love and cherish freedom and believe everyone should have the RIGHT to be free, dont you think the that the children of iraq should have the same chances that you and i had/have?
Little girls were not allowed to go to school before we invaded now they do, is that wrong? I do not think that you are un american, dont believe everything the media writes or talks about, I believe what my cousin tells me, he is almost done with his second tour and is going to re-enlist so he can go back. He says its for the little kids over there

Answer 7

I don't think your view is unpatriotic, I just feel your outlook is misguided. What part of any of humanities past history would lead you to believe there will ever be any kind of peace? As long as you can make your argument with some kind of back ground I'm good, right now, you don't have a leg to stand on.

Answer 8

I do not find your statements to be unpatriotic. I would wholeheartedly support peaceful, diplomatic solutions to resolving conflict as opposed to shedding blood on the battlefield. The problem is that this is unproblematic. Though we may strive for peace, the reality is that there is a ideological mass of individuals who are willing to die in an effort to destroy us and our way of life. As a soldier, I am willing to fight, despite the known prospect of possibly losing my life, in an effort to preserve the freedoms that we hold dear; and ensure that individuals like yourself and others are free to exercise their rights.

Answer 9

I find the view that war is to be avoided at all costs to be incredibly naive.

Believe it or not there are some things worth protecting. (Such as your freedom to post your views on war without fear of punishment.)

Answer 10

At ALL costs?

What about the Civil War?
The Revolutionary War?
WWII?

What should have been done in those instances? What should the US have done after Pearl Harbor? Negotiate?

How about peace through victory?

How about supporting our troops by letting them win?