Pacifism Must Be Mutual

My brother, in response to a post I made elsewhere, made a good point with regard to pacifism. Rather than try to interject my own "wisdom," I'll let his words speak for themselves.

Einstein was a pacifist too. He used to cry at the site of military men marching by in formation. Yet when he was confronted directly with a choice to lend his support in stopping Hitler or to not, he signed the letter Leo Szilard had written urging Franklin Roosevelt to develop a bomb before Germany did.

If one of the smartest men how ever lived had to abandon his utopian principles for realist ones, what makes the rest of us think we could avoid getting in a fight if confronted with it directly? Pacifism only works if both parties agree to it. If one party adheres to pacifism and the other does not, the pacifist will be the one to become extinct.

Einstein's story shows us that pacifism is a luxury some enjoy at the expense of others. That is why I admire those who serve: Because they volunteer to meet the harsh world on its own terms so that America can live in a cocoon of peace. I admire them because they allow the rest of us to revel in our illusion of pacifism, choosing not to fight, because others have chosen to fight for us.