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In the present day most Americans have a negative perception of war. My generation (the Millennial Generation) has been reshaped and redefined by the events of 9/11 and the war in Iraq. We, as a generation, tend to be strongly opposed against the war in Iraq and we are calling for our troops to come home. However at the same time we are practical, we understand that if we pull out of Iraq we are leaving the Iraqis with a very unstable and barely existent political, physical, social, and economic infrastructure. I believe most of my fellow peers maintain war is necessary, yet in very specific situations (i.e. the World Wars, the Civil War, and the Revolutionary War) where the casus belli is based on a proper and factual moral justification. At times I believe all humans believe that war is inevitable because of humanistic nature. However the Millennial generation has taken on the challenge to always promote peace and diplomatic means before any other options.
    Is peace or diplomatic means the antithesis to war? Well we are socialized to believe so. Is war is so bad? Does a military foster peace or aggression? Is the military a breeding ground for war? William James and H.G. Wells  maintain that militaries are means of peaceful activity. In The Moral Equivalent of War (written by William James) James quotes Wells as follows: "In many ways," he says, "military organization is the most peaceful of activities. When the contemporary man steps from the street, of clamorous insincere advertisement, push, adulteration, underselling and intermittent employment into the barrack-yard, he steps on to a higher social plane, into an atmosphere of service and cooperation and of infinitely more honorable emulations.” What I discerned from this quote ultimately peaces arises out of service to your country/community which in turn  facilitates cooperation and cooperation leads to peace. As we build cooperation through community service (through organizations like the National Service), we will begin to build the moral equivalent to war.

William James, H.G. Wells, War, Peace, Service (all tags)

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