re: #37 HappyWarrior

What’s always struck me about the first world war is how many people could witness warfare and some would come out of it like Remarque and write perhaps the best anti-war novel ever and yet others like Hitler would come out of it with a thirst for more war.

It is that way with every war. The contrasting responses are probably more extreme for World War I veterans because the experience of battle was so extreme. This was made worse by the complete lack of preparation and awareness in the generation that fought the war. In 1914, war was still touted as a romantic and heroic endeavor. Believe it or not, French curraisiers still rode into battle in 1914 wearing polished breastplates and plumed helmets (though not for long).
Vietnam veterans also vary a great deal in the lessons they draw from what the media call “the experience.” Some are total pacifists, some are gun-crazed survivalists. I fall between the extremes. It sets my teeth on edge, though, when I hear civilians with no military or combat experience making bloodthirsty calls for war whenever some real or imaginary provocation arises. I react like this even when I think war is justified, as after 9-11. I am not a religious man, but hearing these ignorantly violent rants makes me want to quote the words of Christ from the cross: “Forgive them, Father, for they know not what they do.”