Stop celebrating horrors of the Civil War

I see we’re celebrating our Civil War yet again.. When, if ever, will human beings stop glorifying war?

This most barbaric of human activities, deliberately wreaking destruction, maiming and bloody death on other peoples’ young doesn’t strike me as something to revere.

I’m keenly aware that public education is not designed to turn out original, critical thinkers who may challenge the system, but rather to turn out good citizens who will obey the laws, pay taxes and either be drafted or be willing to enlist when their country calls for killing.

It’s significant, don’t you think, that soldiers are asked to die for their country but never publicly, in so many words, to kill for that same political entity? Killing, of course, is the purpose of sending them to war.

It’s a particularly saddening touch to see children brought along for the festivities, inculcating an attitude toward warfare of glory and heroism rather than trying to teach them about the horrors of war and that uniforms, bands and patriotic songs are not the essence of warfare but instead mechanisms used to condition old and young to inflict violence on someone else’s family.

This story was originally published October 23, 2017 at 3:40 PM with the headline "Stop celebrating horrors of the Civil War."