Apology to Veterans and their families

[BetheButterfly]

Hello,

 

As many might suppose, I am anti-war. Even though I am not a Quaker, I do lean more towards a Quaker view, "Friends referred to their movement as "primitive Christianity revived." The Friends peace testimony, as with other aspects of Friends' faith and practice, harkens back to the understanding of early Christians. For the first couple of centuries after the crucifixion of Christ, Christians refused to bear arms. The explanations of Quakers for the peace testimony echo the views of early Christians whose writings are still available to us."

 

Friends (Quakers) and Peace, by Bill Samuel - QuakerInfo.com

 

So, I apologize to veterans I have offended. It is not my intent to offend anyone. I do believe that it is important for Christians (not for anybody who is not a Christian) to obey Jesus' teachings, which include loving one's enemies. However, there are many Christians who have no problem with killing enemies of one's country.

 

So, to Nohbody and all I have offended, I am sorry. It was not my intent.

 

War is a very complicated issue, and since I am a peace activist, it is something I personally struggle with, because I understand that defense is also very necessary for protection.

 

I remember one time I was in the city square where I used to live, and a drunk man came up to me. I am not used to drunk men. However, one of my friends, a 6'4'' guy who is an ex-druggie, came up and told him to leave me alone. The drunk guy certainly wasn't leaving me alone with me trying to be nice and yet get away. It was the "warrior" who through a mere order, saved me from the unwanted attention of that guy.

 

So, I understand and appreciate what the American military does for the USA. Many brave men and women risk their lives to protect their country, and I thank you for that. Personally, I think it should only be done defensively, not aggressively/offensively. However, I am not an expert in protecting the USA.

 

I am thankful for the freedoms of the USA, and the freedom of religion, which I greatly enjoy. Thank you for your desire to protect the USA. May American soldiers protect the USA with integrity, kindness, and with as much care as possible to protect all human life, no matter what country they are in/where they are sent by the good yet not perfect government, and may peace activists like me be able to understand and help them, instead of make them feel attacked.

 

Peace and God bless you

[Anela]

I know that I apologized privately, but I wanted to do so here too (I'm really sorry for jumping on you ♥ ). I feel awful when someone does that to me - it doesn't happen often, but I don't like it, and shouldn't be here when I'm feeling that sensitive (and goodness knows I've offended my share of people, often accidentally.)

 

I do understand, and I generally agree with you - I'm not a Christian, but I have done my best over the years to turn the other cheek, and I wasn't in favour of the wars. I just feel bad for the people who have been there, like Nohbody; I have more than one family member who went to Vietnam - service in the armed forces has been a big thing for quite a few members of my dad's side of the family - and they don't/can't talk about what they lived over there.

 

I think this is really classy of you.

[BetheButterfly]

I know that I apologized privately, but I wanted to do so here too (I'm really sorry for jumping on you ♥ ). I feel awful when someone does that to me - it doesn't happen often, but I don't like it, and shouldn't be here when I'm feeling that sensitive (and goodness knows I've offended my share of people, often accidentally.)

 

I do understand, and I generally agree with you - I'm not a Christian, but I have done my best over the years to turn the other cheek, and I wasn't in favour of the wars. I just feel bad for the people who have been there, like Nohbody; I have more than one family member who went to Vietnam - service in the armed forces has been a big thing for quite a few members of my dad's side of the family - and they don't/can't talk about what they lived over there.

 

I think this is really classy of you.

 

Actually, I don't mind being "jumped on" when I am not being sensitive to others. It is a very delicate issue and it is true that I was not striving to understand his viewpoint. Thanks for showing me that. That is really classy of you, to care for this man who I didn't understand. You taught me a very good lesson. I am so sleepy now... it is 2 am here and I am ready to go back to bed... I couldn't sleep. I don't like it when people are mad at me... thanks for taking a stand and seeing both sides of an issue. There is no need at all for you to apologize.

 

Good night