-Andre Gide
On one of my blogs, a post received a comment from a fellow blogger stating his views on the issue of war being necessary for the attainment of peace. He suggested me a "simplistic catch phrase I SHOULD take stock in". The "simplistic catch phrase" states:'The price of peace is eternal vigilance'. And yes, I totally agree with him. We have got to be vigilant at all times, everyday, every minute of our lives coz we will never know. The next bomb attack could be in the bus we are in or the next kidnap victim could be a member of our families. BUT. Wouldn't it be much better if we live our lives without these thoughts of kidnappings and wars bothering us. This is like shooting at the moon. It could be improbable, impossible actually. As he said, "it is never that easy". Again, I totally agree. Peace can't be attained by just saying "let's make love not war".
He is a soldier, a marine with decades of service to the nation. For that I owe him a lot, for that I am very grateful. For that I respect him in all honesty. I respect him for donning the military uniform. If I could I would like to be a soldier just like him. Then why am I anti-war, you may ask. Because I want peace. It is what I want for this country. It is what I want for Iraq. It is what I want for everybody.
If saying "give peace a chance" is insulting, then I'm sorry. I didn't know what I'm talking about. And I am not ignoring the fact that hundreds of thousands of soldiers died in war for peace's sake. I know somenone who died in Mindanao, I didn't ignore that. I am not a soldier. I don't know how the military works. I don't know how a soldier feels. But I know a soldier's life is dangerous. A soldier is a hero, that I know. Anyone carrying a gun is meant to be in constant danger. And that is something most people are afraid of. But a soldier carries it anyway. I am a freeman because of him.
World War I, World War II, Churchill, Roosevelt Patrick Henry, the American soldier, the Filipino soldier, the German soldier, the Cold War, biographies. They are my inspiration. They have my complete respect and I look upon them as events, stories and people worthy of being looked up to....as memorials, as heroes, as kings, as inspirations, as Gods even. They gave us the world that is today.
But we don't have to go through what they went through. Again? So when's the next Nagasaki? Tomorrow? Where's the next Hiroshima? Manila? I hope and wish there will never be. Let's keep Nagasaki and Hiroshima in the history books.
Soldiers died, civilians died in war in order to have peace. Does it have to be always this way?
Kill that guy so he wouldn't kill you.
Bomb that country before it bombs your own country.
Let's hijack a plane and fly it into Malacanang Palace.
Let's put these bombs under the bus seats and see how their brains are blown out to pieces. Then let's laugh.
Let's put these bombs under the bus seats and see how their brains are blown out to pieces. Then let's laugh.
Let's give our son a military uniform and send him out to war, with tears in our eyes.
Let's ambush those camouflaged guys and take their heads.
Let's find a tourist, kidnap him and make lots of money.
Let's wiretap the president and be popular.
Let's wiretap the president and be popular.
Let's declare an all-out war in Mindanao.
Let's cheat.
Let us not cheat because if we do, we lose money.
Let's go to the streets and protest and have a rally, we don't even know why we are protesting.
Let's buy a gun coz it looks very cool.
Let's buy a gun coz it looks very cool.
Come on. There has got to be a better way to do this. Nobody dies. Nobody gets his head severed. Nobody carries a gun. Nobody makes bombs. Nobody hears gun salutes. Nobody cries. Nobody goes to prison. Nobody becomes a widow. There has got to be a way to achieve this.
Do you know what astonished me most in the world? The inability of force to create anything. In the long run the sword is always beaten by the spirit. Soldiers usually win battles and generals get the credit for them. You must not fight too often with one enemy, or you will teach him all your art of war. If they want peace, nations should avoid the pin-pricks that precede cannon shots.
-Napoleon Bonaparte