V-E Day remembrance

I would have let V-E Day slip by if an internet friend hadn't reminded me of the day.

As a V-E Day remembrance, I'm posting something below. It's a comment I left earlier this evening at another blog, David Boyd.org

David had picked up on a Churchill Series post I did comparing Churchill to Gandhi. David's post is here.

One of those commenting at David's blog said, "Pacifism only works when your enemy has a conscience."

That led me to make the response below which I want to serve as a V-E Day remembrance and an appreciation to all who have served in the American military and their families.

The comment follows.
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Re: "Pacifism only works when your enemy has a conscience."

You often need a lot more, most especially a strong military willing to fight and die to protect a country that gives rights to pacifists.

Do you know anything about the town close to where I live, Chapel Hill? If not, just think about your town.

Imagine Chapel Hill or your town without a military whose members are willing to defend and, if necessary, give their lives to protect our country.

Without our military, what would life be like for pacifists, gays, lesbians, transgender and “traveling" people, anti-war groups, Democrats supporting Hillary, Republicans supporting Rudy, and all the rest of us?

It's something we should all think about today, V-E Day, and later this month on Memorial Day, May 29. And every other day of our lives.

When I was young, the pacifists I knew understood the importance of America’s military. Because they did, many of them agreed to serve in the military on condition they would be non-combatants. One of them, Desmond Doss, even won the Congressional Medal of Honor. You can read about him here.

Doss died recently at age 87. RIP.

John