29 May 2005

Ain't Gonna Study War No More

As I stared at the "telly," the queen of England stood on a platform with bright blue waters to her back. She looked perfectly calm in her blue hat and matching coat (despite the scorching day), facing a crowd of British, Canadian, Australian, French and American veterans gathered on the beaches of Normandy to observe the 60th anniversary of the D-Day landings.

She spoke in absolutely perfect French, honoring the sacrifices of so many. It was touching to hear her words. The Brits paid a dear price in World War II, as did the Canadians, the French, the Australians, the Russians, the Poles, and my own dear countrymen.

At this much publicized ceremony held last spring, the British men, some of them in their 90s, carried the flags of their home regiments that represented many generations of warring ... and for a moment they were young again. It was reported that these men and their families had visited the British and American, and even the German, cemeteries of this region to pay their respects, probably for the last time in their lives.

The sight of thousands of Christian crosses and stars of David are enough to make even the hardest hearted person choke ... a very real reminder that so many young were stopped dead in their tracks as they fought to save the world from the Nazis. It was a time when there was a clear right and a clear wrong. America and her friends were on the side of right, and time has served to strengthen that view.

As the band played, the British men marched in formation, backbones stiff and straight, some in full dress uniform. Their bodies were old, but they marched proudly, even in the unseasonably high temperatures and scorching sun. Their pride pushed them forward, and they marched like young men as they saluted their queen. I wondered how there could be a dry eye in the place as their families stood in the crowd watching those proud souls as they must have felt, even if for an instant, the price so many had paid for our freedom.

The scene reminded me once again of the terrible cost of war - even a war as just as World War II. Veterans have told me over the years, almost without exception, that they absolutely hate war -"War is hell." One look into the eyes of these old men and it is possible to see that war is much worse than that.

Albert Einstein once said that we cannot prepare for war and peace at the same time ... in the same way. He argued that war (and the institutions of war) can only bring about more wars. But in the years since the old men on that beach were young men on that beach, we have not followed Einstein's advice.

As I pondered the fact that we continue to study war and to make new wars, it struck me that as we get older we are not wiser. At the moment I heard my father say from the grave (he's a World War II Navy vet), "You can't wage peace. There are always those around the world who will attack us. We must always be prepared and ready to fight."

But I can't help but wonder what would happen if the next generation studied how to wage peace, instead of war?

Somehow I have to believe that the answer to waging peace (instead of war) is rooted in understanding how other nations and people think about life. Everywhere I have visited in this world -China, Russia (yes even this place), Tunisia, Nicaragua and beyond -people love their children. Jews love their children, Buddhists love their children, Muslims love their children, Christians love their children, and all the beliefs in between love their children. We are a world of very different people who have so much in common.

I was thinking of all of this as the Scottish, Welsh and English men came to a halt at the end of the parade platform. The site of those lovely old men saluting their queen -60 years after saving the world - made me wonder what it would take to turn the heads of governments in another direction -away from war, away from killing, away from all of the money that war brings to the bank accounts of corporations. I was just wondering.

Annie Warmke lives near Philo, but continues to write about her life in Europe. You can reach her by visiting http://www.bluerockstation.com.

Originally published May 29, 2005