I saw a photograph today from 1940 of nurses, or perhaps governesses, with babies in their arms, and everyone in the photo was wearing a gas mask. Have you ever seen a baby wearing a gas mask? It’s unsettling, to say the least. Unsettling because it’s such a stark reminder of war. Unsettling because they’ve done nothing to deserve needing to wear a gas mask, and unsettling because for the thousands of years of documented history we have of humans, we have been fighting.
The only reason why I think that we think that we still think war is necessary is that we are still barbarians. We may wear suits and ties, and eat food with utensils, say, “please,” “thank you” and “beg your pardon,” but when we are stripped of our niceties, we are still barbarians.
I realize that not all of us are. I abhor war, or violence of any kind. I know there are plenty of other people who feel the same way. Yet, for all of the demonstrations for peace that have happened, for all of the people speaking against war, we are still a warring tribe of people.
We seem to thrive on bloodshed, and while we like to think that babies no longer need to wear gas masks, because we only kill the bad guys, we know it’s really a big, steaming pile of bullshit. Earlier this year, the U.S. lost its place on the list of the top 100 most peaceful countries, because we all know we love to go to war. It’s big money.
So how do we convince everyone that war and violence isn’t the answer? I think we have to start on a small scale. We start with ourselves and how we treat our neighbors, co-workers and even family. Then we look at it on a little bit larger scale, our neighborhoods treat other neighborhoods with respect, then we move on to cities, states, countries and then the world.
Maybe this is a naive way to look at it, and maybe it seems too simplistic. But, the other ways haven’t worked, have they? We still have war. We still have 18-year-old boys going to fight and returning as 22-year-old men who are shattered, inside and out. Then what do we do with them here in the U.S.? We ignore them for the most part. We allow them to be homeless, hungry, outcast. We ignore the mental health disorders they carry home. We ignore their suffering. The government thanks them for their service, then with middle finger extended, asks them to kindly disappear.
John Lennon said it best, “Imagine there’s no countries. It isn’t hard to do, nothing to kill or die for, and no religion, too. Imagine all the people living life in peace. You may say I’m a dreamer, but I’m not the only one. I hope someday you’ll join us, and the world will be as one.”
Rachel Birdsell is a freelance writer and artist. She’d love to hear from you at rabirdsell@gmail.com.
What’s so Funny About Peace, Love and Understanding?
Rachel Birdsell
I saw a photograph today from 1940 of nurses, or perhaps governesses, with babies in their arms, and everyone in the photo was wearing a gas mask. Have you ever seen a baby wearing a gas mask? It’s unsettling, to say the least. Unsettling because it’s such a stark reminder of war. Unsettling because they’ve done nothing to deserve needing to wear a gas mask, and unsettling because for the thousands of years of documented history we have of humans, we have been fighting.
The only reason why I think that we think that we still think war is necessary is that we are still barbarians. We may wear suits and ties, and eat food with utensils, say, “please,” “thank you” and “beg your pardon,” but when we are stripped of our niceties, we are still barbarians.
I realize that not all of us are. I abhor war, or violence of any kind. I know there are plenty of other people who feel the same way. Yet, for all of the demonstrations for peace that have happened, for all of the people speaking against war, we are still a warring tribe of people.
We seem to thrive on bloodshed, and while we like to think that babies no longer need to wear gas masks, because we only kill the bad guys, we know it’s really a big, steaming pile of bullshit. Earlier this year, the U.S. lost its place on the list of the top 100 most peaceful countries, because we all know we love to go to war. It’s big money.
So how do we convince everyone that war and violence isn’t the answer? I think we have to start on a small scale. We start with ourselves and how we treat our neighbors, co-workers and even family. Then we look at it on a little bit larger scale, our neighborhoods treat other neighborhoods with respect, then we move on to cities, states, countries and then the world.
Maybe this is a naive way to look at it, and maybe it seems too simplistic. But, the other ways haven’t worked, have they? We still have war. We still have 18-year-old boys going to fight and returning as 22-year-old men who are shattered, inside and out. Then what do we do with them here in the U.S.? We ignore them for the most part. We allow them to be homeless, hungry, outcast. We ignore the mental health disorders they carry home. We ignore their suffering. The government thanks them for their service, then with middle finger extended, asks them to kindly disappear.
John Lennon said it best, “Imagine there’s no countries. It isn’t hard to do, nothing to kill or die for, and no religion, too. Imagine all the people living life in peace. You may say I’m a dreamer, but I’m not the only one. I hope someday you’ll join us, and the world will be as one.”
Rachel Birdsell is a freelance writer and artist. She’d love to hear from you at rabirdsell@gmail.com.