I am not a pacifist. I do not make that declaration in order to take any special pride in my position. Its simply the best I can do: I am incapable of standing by should my family, friends, or other innocents within my reach come under violent assault. Nevertheless, I am struck by the way in which, in discussions and debates about war, many people use pacifism as a term clearly intended not only to describe an opponents position but also to condemn it, as if one actually ought to take personal pride in ones standing willingness to take human life, even innocent human life (because such loss of life is inherent in conflicts properly described as wars). I have great respect for genuine pacifists, such as some of the faithful Anabaptists. In our time and place, it requires much more courage to stand against war than to go along with it or even to rush headlong into its prosecution. The pacifist may or may not be reacting in a reasonable way to the conditions at hand. But I refuse to consider pacifism per se as necessarily dishonorable or cowardly. On the contrary.
Posted on: Sat, 09 Aug 2014 23:33:32 +0000
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