War Monuments

A Sermon Delivered by 

The Rev. Thomas Schmidt

November 11, 2007

at the 

Unitarian Universalist Congregation of the Lowcountry

It is Veteran’s Day, a day to honor those that have courageously served our national interests through military service.  Of course, the November 11 holiday originally marked the official end of World War I, the so-called war to end all wars.  The irony of that transposition should not be lost. It is generally the case that the end of one war lays the groundwork for the next and that was definitely the case at the conclusion of the first world war. 

Regardless, the ability of war to solve problems is not the subject today. You see, lately, I have found myself in quite the quandary regarding the role war has played in human history.  As that poem I just read clearly illustrates, war, and violence in general, is a serious assault on the inherent worth and dignity of all people.  In war, out of the necessity of the situation, a soldier in the field must be viewed, must view him or her self, as a means to an end, a  tool, a cog working with other cogs, other tools to accomplish a set goals as determined by some other person likely far from danger.  Civilian casualties are lumped under the inconsonant term, collateral damage.  For these and many other reasons, I find that  war, all war, is an offense on my most deeply held principles.  

However, I find myself deeply opposed to something that I am also deeply indebted for many things I tend to take for granted, many more things than I have ever considered before;  such things as an exceedingly long life expectancy, previously unimaginable technology, easy and affordable transportation, etc. etc.  I really, really hate to admit it, but I do wonder if these thing would exist today without the countless wars that have erupted over the long history of human civilization.  I seriously wonder if,  without the chaos of constant warfare, civilization would have ever had a chance to take root.  

My predicament began as I considered what the world would be like if the idea of war had not been invented.  The first thing to fall away  from existence was the United States.  If the Revolutionary War never happened, then there could be no United States of America.  Then I realized that the land on which original colonists had made their homes had been previously occupied and only became available for the colonists, for the most part, through warfare or the threat of warfare.  From there, I wondered if ships capable of sailing the open oceans would have ever been invented if it wasn’t for warfare.  Why would one need such a ship if war did not exist.

Empires would not have existed without war, or large kingdoms, and perhaps even the first city states.  Was it not war or the threat of war that caused people to form cities in the first place.  Weren’t the oldest cities nothing more than elaborate forts.   And technology, hasn’t war and the threat of war been one of the greatest sources of inspiration for technology. While we remember Galilee for his scientific theories, for example, he actually made his living inventing machines used in warfare.  It is possible, I think , that if war had  not been a part of the human experience, then  humans would still be living  at the  hunter/gather level of existence.  This is not to judge one way of life better or worse, or even judge that war in general is justified.  I am merely pointing out that much of what we take for granted every day exists because war and the threat of war exists.  

Regardless of our personal opinions about particular wars, most especially current wars, I think we can all acknowledge that war has played an instrumental role in the development of human civilization.  For better or worse is up to interpretation however. And we can acknowledge that war, if allowed to continue as a means of handling differences between nations has the potential to destroy all the good that war has wrought over the millennia.  It is the old “Live by the sword, die by the sword” adage writ large. 

While I would like to think I am wrong about the role war has played in the development of civilization, that is the picture history seems to paint.  But while war may have served as the matrix for human development to this point in time, that does not mean war must necessarily continue to play that role.   I personally believe that a paradigm shift is  taking place, that more and more people around the globe are looking at war like never before.  And ne reason this shift is occurring, I think, is the existence of nuclear weapons and the technology to make countless more weapons.   And the reality of that fact makes every war, every cross-border dispute, the potential straw that will  break the camels back.  Another reason I believe this shift is occurring is the recognized toll of human suffering war inflicts, on the participants and the civilians caught in the wake.  And a very significant sign that this shift has been taking place has been standing in Washington for twenty five years now.

Twenty five years ago, The Vietnam Veteran’s Memorial opened to the public.  The monument, the black granite wall with the engraved names of all the O.S. soldiers killed in the war, serves as a constant reminder of the true cost of war in terms of the suffering it causes.  And when we consider that each name on the wall represents countless more people who grieved the loss of that soldier.  And the fact that the memorial exists at all is a tribute to the men and women who fought and returned home, men and women wearing the physical and psychological scars intrinsic to warfare, men and women returning home to a country in conflict.  The fact that the memorial exists, a memorial to a war that did not end victoriously, that was unpopular and controversial, indicates that a paradigm shift is occurring.  

While I have never made a study of war memorials, I imagine that there are not many raised in defeat, or many that first and foremost acknowledge the fallen soldiers over the generals that lead the effort, or many that do not in anyway emphasize the glory of war over the pain and suffering of war.  It makes me consider what the memorial for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan will look like.  Personally, I think the most fitting memorial we can build for the veterans of our current wars is two fold.  The first part of the memorial is a fully funded, fully operational Veteran’s Administration.  One of the lessons learned from the war in Viet Nam, or rather the war at home over the War in Vietnam, is to separate the war from the warrior, to not blame the soldier for the policies of the political leadership.  To support a strong VA is to support the inherent worth and dignity of the soldiers returning home wearing the physical and psychological scars of war.  The news media is rife with examples of VA deficiencies, yet funding continues to be cut.  This can only continue if the people of this country let it continue.

The second part of the memorial is inspired by  a Taoist teaching from Lao-Tse, 

If there is to be peace in the world, there must be peace in the nations.  

If there is to be peace in the nations, there must be peace in the cities.  

If there is to be peace in the cities, there must be peace between neighbors.  

If there is to be peace between neighbors, there must be peace in the home.  

If there is to be peace in the home, there must be peace in the heart.

Peace between nations  begins with peace in the heart.  Peace in the heart of you and me.  My experience to date has shown me that any attempts to control other people is doomed to failure.  Any attempts to control anything outside of ourselves, is generally doomed to failure.  The fact is, even if one was successful in convincing our own government  to safely destroy it’s entire arsenal of nuclear weapons and give up using war and the threat of war as a means to solve problems, even if we were to achieve that wonderful accomplishment, there would remain in the world enough nuclear weapons to destroy all life as we know it many times over and war would remain a serious threat to untold millions of people.  Granted, such a gesture by the United States government would go a long way to change world dynamics, but the likelihood of such a gesture is quite slim. Let’s face it, while the majority of people in the country have come to view the current wars with suspicion, a vast majority supported it at the onset.  As long as the people of this country accept war as a viable option, it will remain a viable option for any leader who chooses to use it.  

So, here is my plan to build a monument to all the men and women fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan, and all around the world in the so-called war on terror.  I will seek peace in my heart, a peace defined by the unwillingness to address anger with anger, violence with violence.  I will seek to practice that peace in my home and teach my son that same lesson.  I will seek to teach the ways peace in my neighborhood and in my city and I will seek to help others do the same.  If I am successful, then perhaps I will look to larger arenas, but for now, I will work where I am to do what I know I can do. To build a lasting monument for peace requires a solid foundation, and we are the foundation.

This is not a political issue, as some might think. More accurately, it is a political issue, but it is not a partisan issue. It serves the cause of war and violence, not the cause of peace, to respond to the war mongers with anger and violent words. The cause for peace is lost once its advocates cease to use peaceful means. And where sticks and stone may break our bones, names can and do really hurt.