NationStates Jolt Archive

OK firstly i am a proud civilian and pacifist, who has had a familial history of going off to war to kill and possibly be killed.
Who believes that dying in a war is a sacrifice? Or indeed a stupid bloody mistake?
Just wondering

you should put up a poll. i go for the 'stupid bloody mistake'.

OK firstly i am a proud civilian and pacifist, who has had a familial history of going off to war to kill and possibly be killed.
Who believes that dying in a war is a sacrifice? Or indeed a stupid bloody mistake?
Just wondering

The two options are not mutually exclusive.

It is sweet and honorable to die for the fatherland.

I.E., holy shit. I agree with Etrusca on some theoretical matter.

Try coming from a line that got the short end of the stick when it came to WW2.

Great grandpa: Killed in Burma as a civilian
Grandpa: Japanese government imposed their laws upon him
Dad: Ran away from new Burmese government

It is sweet and honorable to die for the fatherland.

I.E., holy shit. I agree with Etrusca on some theoretical matter.

I'm pleased, but it's hardly "theoretical."

The two options are not mutually exclusive.
I concur.

Depends on the war, doesn't it?

Sacrifice is right. War is ritual murder on a mass scale. We just like to clean up its image and tell ourselves we are doing it for noble and just reasons. But the real motive is that we are blood-thristy and we enjoy the power murder gives us.

Sacrifice is right. War is ritual murder on a mass scale. We just like to clean up its image and tell ourselves we are doing it for noble and just reasons. But the real motive is that we are blood-thristy and we enjoy the power murder gives us.

Not to put too fine a point on it, but ... unadulterated bullshit.

Anyone who gives their life for another person or something they believe in is making the ultimate sacrifice. Period.

Anyone who gives their life for another person or something they believe in is making the ultimate sacrifice. Period.
As Eutruska said, this doesn't exclude it being a mistake.

Not to put too fine a point on it, but ... unadulterated bullshit.
I was paraphrasing Mother Teresa and others.

OK firstly i am a proud civilian and pacifist, who has had a familial history of going off to war to kill and possibly be killed.
Who believes that dying in a war is a sacrifice? Or indeed a stupid bloody mistake?
Just wondering
I'm no pacifist but most wars are pretty stupid. I think your whole question is going to be moot in 15 or 20 years once we phase out ground troops altogether. We already have those predator drones, and robotic recon vehicles. Just wait for the great American Robo invasion of Iran in 2024. Instead of going overseas all the "troops" will just go to a giant office, with lots of computers and joysticks which will control unmanned robot tanks.

As Eutruska said, this doesn't exclude it being a mistake.

I said that? Hmmm.

I was paraphrasing Mother Teresa and others.

A rather serious paraphrase, I gather.

A rather serious paraphrase, I gather.

Not much of a paraphrase, Mother Teresa along with others had the moral sense to know that all war is evil, regardless of the supposed motivations of the participants unlike some people here who seem to not to able to assess the true cost of war and nor realize that the ends never justify the means.

Not much of a paraphrase, Mother Teresa along with others had the moral sense to know that all war is evil, regardless of the supposed motivations of the participants unlike some people here who seem to not to able to assess the true cost of war and nor realize that the ends never justify the means.

So what do you propose as an option when one nation attacks another? Should the nation attacked simply roll over and play dead?

So what do you propose as an option when one nation attacks another? Should the nation attacked simply roll over and play dead?

That is not the real problem. The problem is humanity and its capacity for bigotry and violence. Are we any better off because of the last war? Or are we just going continue the same old shit for the very same fucked up reasons over again and over again?

OK firstly i am a proud civilian and pacifist, who has had a familial history of going off to war to kill and possibly be killed.
Who believes that dying in a war is a sacrifice? Or indeed a stupid bloody mistake?
Just wondering

Depends on the cause.

As Eutruska said, this doesn't exclude it being a mistake.

Right, but I think making a sacrifice of one's life shouldnt be passed over in such a cavalier manner and labeled as a "mistake". If I stepped in front of a bullet to protect my daughter, thatd be a sacrifice no? The man who walks out on the battlefield because he believes he's protecting his country or even the soldier beside him makes a great sacrifice too. Is it a mistake? Maybe its a mistake for the entire military front to be there in the first place. But thats not the soldiers mistake.

OK firstly i am a proud civilian and pacifist, who has had a familial history of going off to war to kill and possibly be killed.
Who believes that dying in a war is a sacrifice? Or indeed a stupid bloody mistake?
Just wondering
a stupid bloody sacrifice.
not proud or honourable - just stupid.
yay pacifism!

man my posts are becoming more and more moronic every day

I believe that sacrifice for one's country, family, and society is noble and honorable, when one's conduct in the war was honorable as well as one's death.