Why is there no day to honor these dead...?

[Critters2]

http://peacecorpsonline.org/messages/messages/2629/2017378.html

http://thenewsvlog.wordpress.com/2007/04/19/peace-corps-teacher-bludgeoned-to-death-in-philippines/

[tnlefty]

1. I don't know.

I'll keep my nastier thoughts to myself. :thumbsup:

[RedCappedBandit]

2. peace aint cool

[Critters2]

6. I think that's it. It's sad, really. nt

[RedCappedBandit]

12. It is.

Those who join the peace corps are just as, if not more, courageous than those who opt for military service.
I've been considering it, but worry that I'm not up for the challenge.
I have a lot of respect for those who are braver than I.

[deathdog]

3. There should be. K&R. n/t

[ScreamingMeemie]

4. My family has always looked at this day as a day to honor all dead...

My grandparents used to visit, and care for their parents' graves...and I have spent the day remembering...not just those lost to wars but those I love.

[Critters2]

5. I know many do this, but the holiday--the parades, etc

are about the military. Why do we not set aside a day to remember those who died in service to this nation working for peaceful solutions to conflict?

I think it's very telling that we don't.

[ScreamingMeemie]

7. Ours, here in SE Michigan is not...and hasn't been in some time.

In fact, there was a remembrance for a fallen Peace Corps member and a local teacher here. I am sorry that your town hasn't incorporated that.

[Critters2]

8. I've lived in cities all over New England and the Midwest.

And in every one, public Memorial Day commemorations have been about wars. Period.

[kdmorris]

9. It is very telling that we, as a nation, do not honor these

who also died in service to their country. You make great points and I don't have any answers. Those who have been sent to bring peace to other countries should be just as honored as those who wore a military uniform.

Thanks for posting these. I think I'll send these links to my congressman.

[patrice]

10. Peace is not only not Patriotic, it is Subversive.

I live in a Red state; I see this attitude at work all of the time.

[stillcool]

11. Because we are a country that loves war...

There are more than a few people close to me who have been seriously fucked up by serving their country. And there are millions, upon millions of them. It is not a happy day..it is a very sad day. It is a day to acknowledge the rot of this nation's soul.

[riverdeep]

13. War is manly, peace is sissified.

In the eyes of good wholesome 'Mericans, this the view.

Peace is hard. Very hard. Not that killing isn't, but peace isn't a non-event, it's an event with a very different outcome. Two quotes to expand on this:

"It is easier to lead men to combat, stirring up their passion, than to restrain them and direct them toward the patient labors of peace." -Andre Gide (1869-1951)

"War will exist until that distant day when the conscientious objector enjoys the same reputation and prestige that the warrior does today." -JFK

[RedCappedBandit]

14. Great quotes! nt

[GoneOffShore]

15. As I posted here -

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x3342573#3342871

But we are more about honoring the warrior than we are about honoring the peace makers.

It's the "old lie".

No, it's not "sweet and good to die for ones country".

"Better to have gone to jail for stealing the hogs of Curl Trenary

Than to lie beneath this marble slab

Bearing the words "Pro Patria"

What do they mean anyway?"

Edgar Lee Masters - Spoon River Anthology