My belief is, yes, that war and violence are ‘insidious in all contexts’. However, this belief does not surpass my recognition of the reality of war and violence. I do not seek to honour nor am I seeking recognition of honour for any acts of war or violence – I simply wish to remember those people who participated in these acts. I guess it all comes down to that fact that I don’t want to end up like they did. I don’t want to die on a battlefield somewhere, trying to shoot someone before they shoot me. Instead, I want to remember what has happened before, and not get sucked into the same trap. Through this recognition of the ’service and sacrifice’ of others, I hope that I can manage to use all the service and sacrifice that I have available for distribution over the course of my life for something more worthwhile. This is why it is so important for me. It doesn’t ’surpass’ my disbelief in war and violence… instead, it enhances it by reminding me of the futility of it all.

Hope that answers your question.

Tim

Is there some sort of dissonance in not agreeing with existence of armed forces /and/ agreeing with the existence of armed forces? Even if the verbs and nouns are synonyms?

You “disagree with war and violence in all its contexts” but you acknowledge the “service and sacrifice of the men and women who have died for the country”? So, if that isn’t contradictory, then what exactly are you seeking to honour or recognising that needs to be honoured?

Your recognition of “service and sacrifice” is put on a pedestal – “far surpass[ing]” your own principled objection to violence. Why isn’t it the inverse? If /your/ belief is truly that war and violence are insidious in all their contexts, why doesn’t that “far surpass” your recognition of “service and sacrifice”?

You’ve got me in a spin… :-p

Jon x