Memorial Day Is a Time for Reflection

War is deadly to democracy

Memorial Day is certainly a time for reflection, as is Veterans Day.

A quote I often turn to is by James Madison as he reflected on the pernicious influence of constant warfare on any democracy.  Perhaps you’ve seen it before, but it’s worth reading again:

Of all the enemies of true liberty, war is, perhaps, the most to be dreaded, because it comprises and develops the germ of every other.  War is the parent of armies; from these proceed debt and taxes; and armies, and debts, and taxes are the known instruments for bringing the many under the domination of the few.  In war, too, the discretionary power of the Executive is extended; its influence in dealing out offices, honors and emoluments is multiplied; and all the means of seducing the minds, are added to those of subduing the force, of the people.  The same malignant aspect in republicanism may be traced in the inequality of fortunes, and the opportunities of fraud, growing out of a state of war, and in the degeneracy of manner and of morals, engendered in both.  No nation can preserve its freedom in the midst of continual warfare …

When I was in high school, I attended Boys' State, which is run by the American Legion.  A veteran came to address us.  I think this was in 1980.  He said he never wanted any of us young bucks to join his organization, the VFW.  We all stared at each other like the dumbasses we were.  Then some of us realized what he was saying.  He didn't want to send us boys to war.  He wanted America's foreign wars to end.  Our leaders have all failed miserably to honor this grizzled veteran's dream.

I first wrote about that memory here in 2010: https://www.huffpost.com/entry/one-grizzled-veterans-dre_b_328664

And I'd like to share my conclusion from that article.  It seems ever further away: 

On this Veteran's Day, what if we began to measure our national success and power, not by our military arsenal or by the number of new recruits in the ranks, but rather by the gradual shrinking of our military ranks, the decline of our spending on defense, perhaps even by the growing quiet of our legion posts and VFW halls?

Wouldn't that be a truer measure of national success: fewer American combat veterans? 

Wouldn't that give us something to celebrate this Veteran's Day?

I know one old grizzled veteran who would quietly nod his agreement.

I confess I am disgusted by the path of our country today. Soaring war budgets. Scores of billions for war in Ukraine and genocide in Gaza. Perhaps as much as $2 trillion for a new generation of nuclear weapons. It’s a form of collective insanity.

I saw this cartoon recently on Twitter/X, which sums up our American moment:

That homeless guy collecting a few coins and dollars: he might just be a veteran. No matter. The bipartisan consensus is clear. War is the health of the state. Too bad it’s so unhealthy, indeed deadly, to everything else, including what’s left of democracy in America.