Eric's response to my response to Helm's disparaging the Peace Makers is very funny. I enjoyed it thoroughly even though it is premised on a misconception. A warmonger is not as he presumed "someone who -- either from careful study and reflection, or from persuasion by propaganda -- forcefully advocates war or warlike policies." My definition of a warmonger is one who forcefully advocates the killing of however many people it takes to ensure that one's self-interest is served. Such advocacy is usually clothed in appeals to patriotism or religion or racial superiority or economic necessity or some noble ideal such as 'democracy'. As a cultural ethos in the West, warmongering typically expresses itself in glorification of those who excel as executives of killers and for whom public statues are erected, and in generic glorification of those who paid the ultimate price for the warmongers' self-interests -- almost always someone of a lower socio-economic class to whom posthumous medals are given and in whose name public speeches are made though the names forgotten. Abstract heroism is preached to the young. Always the buying and selling of human life for the interests of the wealthy and powerful. "A few good men." "A holy jihadist." True believers all, aren't we? It's been that way for forty thousand years. The time has come for some kind of "truth in advertising law" to be passed, or at least the posting of a warning label: "Caveat milites: The life you're about to take or give up is not for the reasons you've been told." Yes, indeed, the time has come long since to put an end to that old lie "dulce et decorum est pro patria mori".
Mike Gearyyes, I would defend myself and my loved ones against aggression -- just in case anyone doesn't understand the difference between self-defence and warmongering.
----- Original Message ----- From: "Eric Yost" <mr.eric.yost@xxxxxxxxx>
To: <lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> Sent: Wednesday, January 16, 2008 8:48 AM Subject: [lit-ideas] Re: Herman Wouk's mini-series Mike [responding to Lawrence]: You're probably right, but then the warmongers among us will always prefer the Lyndon Johnson - George Bush approach -- preemptive war even though there's nothing to preempt. It's tough being a warmonger.* Humanity has become so peaceful and so prone to rational conflict solution, that the postmodern warmonger is often marginalized and despised, a true outcast, a wretched of the earth. Sure, there are a few warmonger outreach facilities where the "bellicosely unchallenged" can get the social support they need. Here they are not afraid to trumpet their differences. Here the T-shirts, "Got War?" or "I Advocated War But All I Got Was This Uneasy Peace" may be worn without the prejudice, discrimination, and verbal violence this group routinely faces. By chance, I encountered one of these underfunded centers of refuge, and nudged by Mike's postulate above, I entered to ask its habitués whether they would prefer "preemptive war even though there's nothing to preempt." A man named Bill W (the "W" standing, I assume, for War) seemed to speak for the group when he replied: "That's a no-brainer. It's always preferable to preempt things that do not exist. If you preempt something that exists, you'll probably miss some of it, and the enemy will use it against you." "But what about the idea of preemption in general?" I replied, unsure if my words carried beyond the noisy saber-rattling. "Preemption just means that you don't let enemies attack you. Instead you attack their attack," replied Bill W. "Ever hear of Bruce Lee? He developed a martial arts system -- JKD -- entirely based on interception, or what you call preemption. It works." "But what about the morality of preemption?" I asked. "Isn't it more important to be moral than to avoid defeat in war?" "Are you trying to start a fight?" he asked. "No." "Why not?" "I was misinformed," I replied, edging toward the door. And so I beat on, a boat against the current, born back ceaselessly into the past. Eric _____ * One assumes a "warmonger" is someone who -- either from careful study and reflection, or from persuasion by propaganda -- forcefully advocates war or warlike policies. ------------------------------------------------------------------ To change your Lit-Ideas settings (subscribe/unsub, vacation on/off,digest on/off), visit www.andreas.com/faq-lit-ideas.html
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