War is Always a Defeat For Humanity
Originally published October 2014.
A REFLECTION ON CLINT EASTWOOD'S FLAGS OF OUR FATHERS (2006)
"War . . . is always a defeat for humanity." ~Saint Pope John Paul II
From the greatest generation to millennials, we have been generations shaped by war. We have seen global conflicts make it to our own soil, the blood of our sons and daughters, brothers and sisters, mothers and fathers, and grandfathers spilled for this cause and that one. From ending tyranny in all of its forms, to protecting our God-given liberties to fighting one's own demons, we have seen ethereal numbers march onto the battlefields under the banners that it is truly, truly honorable to die for one's country.
Yet, we try to avoid war at all costs, whether it be with ourselves or foreign combatants, because we know there is no victory in war. No matter whose flag is raised in the end, whether literal or figurative, when the dragons that lurk in the bowels of humanity are released, and the monsters clash this way and that, we clamor to find the meaning and purpose of the dark void in which we have created.
In this darkness, we have a need to create heroes for our own comfort and sanity. We label those who set foot on those battlefields--so that we may never have to--as the romantic warriors of honor, sacrifice and valor. We speak for those who don't come home, or if they do--in a box, and tell their story to comfort our own loss. We speak for those who do come home, with physical or psychological Purple Hearts, telling them how they should identify themselves. They are heroes, we say. We owe them everything--while those that return with combat survivor's remorse, perpetually regretting not falling alongside their brothers and sisters on the beaches, in the fields, in the rice paddies, in the jungles, on the tundras, in the deserts, on the sea and in the air.
But until we travel the dark corridors of hellish war can we truly understand honest heroism. True heroism is not in acts of valor, the ability to take shrapnel in one's leg or lay down your life for your country. True heroism is to do all that and with great humility, march on silently into the night knowing that while war is always a defeat for humanity, there are times that it is a necessary evil. The true heroes carry that burden for they know the depth and breadth of its weight, storm the mountain and fight for their brothers and sisters in arms. They understand and have experienced fear and no matter the outcome, they won.
It is not their job to tell their stories. That responsibility--the honor of setting foot on the battlefields once the barrels of their guns have grown cold, their boots shined clean, their uniforms pressed and stored in closets--is our own.
~Michael DeNobile
A REFLECTION ON CLINT EASTWOOD'S FLAGS OF OUR FATHERS (2006)
"War . . . is always a defeat for humanity." ~Saint Pope John Paul II
From the greatest generation to millennials, we have been generations shaped by war. We have seen global conflicts make it to our own soil, the blood of our sons and daughters, brothers and sisters, mothers and fathers, and grandfathers spilled for this cause and that one. From ending tyranny in all of its forms, to protecting our God-given liberties to fighting one's own demons, we have seen ethereal numbers march onto the battlefields under the banners that it is truly, truly honorable to die for one's country.
Yet, we try to avoid war at all costs, whether it be with ourselves or foreign combatants, because we know there is no victory in war. No matter whose flag is raised in the end, whether literal or figurative, when the dragons that lurk in the bowels of humanity are released, and the monsters clash this way and that, we clamor to find the meaning and purpose of the dark void in which we have created.
In this darkness, we have a need to create heroes for our own comfort and sanity. We label those who set foot on those battlefields--so that we may never have to--as the romantic warriors of honor, sacrifice and valor. We speak for those who don't come home, or if they do--in a box, and tell their story to comfort our own loss. We speak for those who do come home, with physical or psychological Purple Hearts, telling them how they should identify themselves. They are heroes, we say. We owe them everything--while those that return with combat survivor's remorse, perpetually regretting not falling alongside their brothers and sisters on the beaches, in the fields, in the rice paddies, in the jungles, on the tundras, in the deserts, on the sea and in the air.
But until we travel the dark corridors of hellish war can we truly understand honest heroism. True heroism is not in acts of valor, the ability to take shrapnel in one's leg or lay down your life for your country. True heroism is to do all that and with great humility, march on silently into the night knowing that while war is always a defeat for humanity, there are times that it is a necessary evil. The true heroes carry that burden for they know the depth and breadth of its weight, storm the mountain and fight for their brothers and sisters in arms. They understand and have experienced fear and no matter the outcome, they won.
It is not their job to tell their stories. That responsibility--the honor of setting foot on the battlefields once the barrels of their guns have grown cold, their boots shined clean, their uniforms pressed and stored in closets--is our own.
~Michael DeNobile
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