TROUBL

I spent Memorial Day weekend in Central Park–laying and drinking wine with friends, taking advantage of the warm weather to wander the city, sit outdoors at bars, and sleep in late. I had fleeting thoughts of the sacrifices thousands of soldiers have made to give Americans the freedoms and benefits we have today, but I didn’t think about the meaning of the weekend too much, until one beery night when I happened to meet two members of the US Navy, who were on leave from their ship during New York’s annual Fleet Week.

I took it upon myself to smile, wave and flirt with every sailor I saw, figuring it could be seen as a civic duty. Here are men and women (but I didn’t flirt so much with the women) who have devoted their lives to protecting me and my freedom - the least I can do to thank them is make them feel welcome in my city.

Sometime, during my posturing, I met and spent much of the evening at a bar with two young Navy men who took their jobs seriously. We had some good conversations about what it’s like to be in the Navy, and eventually the topic of discussion came around to politics. Both agreed, surprisingly, that they hated President Bush, but they would still vote Republican in the coming election. They Believed Republicans support the military more than Democrats, and they were afraid that if a Democrat takes office, their pay and benefits will be slashed.

I saw their point and agreed with them that it would be terrible to cut military salaries. After all, these men and women are devoting their lives to protecting our country; and while I might have some ideological differences with the government, I still love America and try to appreciate the freedoms I have been afforded through the hard work and spilled blood of our men and women at arms. Our soldiers should be rewarded richly for the difficult and dangerous work they do. Still, I find myself hesitating when I approach the topic of the military at large.

I can’t agree with most of the jobs that American men and women have been sent to do for our government over the last half-century, and I’m not sure how that should affect my view of the soldiers themselves. I have many military friends in all branches and at all levels. I love them all dearly and I support them in their decisions to become soldiers, but to what end? They mostly joined with their eyes on protecting America, serving their country, giving something back to those who went before them. But, for what? So they can offer up their lives for the sake of… foreign oil? Protecting the American “brand” across the globe? To help the human race? Or, as Teddy Roosevelt said, to “Carry a big stick”?

I don’t claim to know the real reasoning behind the Iraq conflict, and I certainly don’t know all the details of how our military works; but, when I sit back and look at warfare these days, I tend to think, “How barbaric. Haven’t we evolved past that yet?” I hear people make arguments about how it’s part of our human nature to fight and to go to war, and I suppose one can’t argue with thousands of years of human history. But, I still can’t help but ask, just because we used to do it, does that mean we still have to fight to prove our points? Must we follow the bloody example laid out by our fathers, or can we, at this point in our evolution, begin to forgive other nations, ethnicities, and forces? I feel as if humans have come a long way as a species. Most of us no longer live in caves, wear animal skins or hunt for food. We don’t need to fight to protect ourselves like we once did. Language, diplomacy, and intelligence allow us to resolve conflicts peacefully. Can’t we try to move past the killing of other people to work things out?

Perhaps, I am expecting too much out of humanity–obviously, people still harbor all sorts of ‘isms from racism, classicism, and nationalism. Fights are bound to break out. But, in this day and age of communication and globalization, should our government continue to support violence? I can’t say that I expect the military to disband - that would be foolish at best and fatal to the country at worse– but I wonder if we can’t start to rethink our policy toward conflict resolution in light of the civilized evolution of human society.