Monday, May 26, 2014

Memorial Day

For those who haven't been paying attention, last semester I took a class on the History of International Law and War Crimes. It sounds complicated, but really it came down to how the international community has viewed war and how world leaders attempted to prevent it. In my final paper I discussed the transition international law underwent from the Concert of Europe to the United Nations and how drastically the goals have changed from the preservation of state power to the lofty goals of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.  I spent an entire semester discussing war and ways world leaders have tried to prevent it.

What big conclusion have I come to after reading Frank B. Kellogg's War Prevention Policy, "Priestblock 25487: A Memoir of Dachau" by Jean Bernard and countless other primary sources? I have learned that we can only legislate the world we know and that war has taught us many things. From war we've learned we cannot control our weapons. As the German's learned when mustard gas blew back in their faces, weapons take on a life of their own and can just as easily be used against us so we banned chemical warfare. We shouldn't be so quick to think of new ways to kill ourselves. I've learned that hope can be found in the ashes. Countries rebuild, lives are changed, but we move forward. After World War II, the Human Rights Commission made it possible to protect not just the victims of war crimes, but guaranteed basic rights throughout both war and peace times and they did so with the hope that the atrocities they had come to face-to-face with at the Nuremberg trials would never happen again. They sure did aim high. We all know people still suffer, but that doesn't mean we should lay down our swords, not yet.

War is dark and horrible, some would argue a necessary evil. It is sometimes a manipulated tool of international policy and sometimes a righteous sword. For me, Memorial Day isn't just about commemorating the lives lost. It is a moment to consider why we go to war. Why does the young man (or woman) enlist and why does the congressman send him on his way with a vote? There are so many reasons, so many complex issues, but in the end someone chose war and in that moment all of our notions of how the world works have come to a crossroads. War is change.

They called World War I "The Great War" and "The war to end all wars" and yet here we are, a hundred years later and war is as much a reality as ever. I don't have much of an opinion to share, nothing controversial, at least. War is terrible, no one can argue that, but we can learn from it and I hope that as you think about the loved ones lost, you think about what their sacrifice means for you and for the world we live in. Millions of men and women have given their lives for their cause over the years and their sacrifice was noble because it allows us a chance to learn, a chance to be better.