I was born five years after my namesake was murdered in the Krosno, Poland, ghetto, and after his family was executed in the Warzyce Forest and buried in a mass grave.

Only two years before I entered the world, President Harry Truman ordered the release of two atomic bombs, with the neutral-sounding names of “Little Boy” and “Fat Man,” to literally incinerate people and property in Japanese cities.

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When I was three, though I was not conscious of it at the time, my country joined the battles in Korea, resulting in the loss of valued lives on all sides of the conflict.

From my early teens through my mid-twenties, I first became aware of the buildup and then the full-scale deployment of U.S. military personnel to the streets and jungles of Southeast Asia. As I witnessed the massive number of troops returning to our country in body bags, I became paralyzed with grief, knowing that my friends and classmates were among the dead.

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When I was in my fifty-fourth year, President George W. H. Bush sent troops to the Middle East to fight in what would become known as the First Gulf War. His son, President George W. Bush, later waged his “War on Terror” in Afghanistan and Iraq following the attack on our homeland in 2001.

I am now well into my eighth decade of life, and Donald Trump has chosen to blow up boats and invade Venezuela, allegedly to extract and place on trial that nation’s president on charges of drug trafficking.

As I write this, the President of the United States has joined with the government of Israel in a continual bombing campaign and possible ground invasion of Iran, just as diplomatic negotiations seemed to have had the potential of easing tensions.

When I hear the military language used to describe our brave service members undertaking “tours” of duty in the “theater” of operations, one could imagine a guided family outing through an exotic arts festival. But this seemingly impartial terminology camouflages something dangerous and deadly, as the youth of our nation risk the ultimate sacrifice in battles that, in hindsight, need not have occurred.

Reflecting on the futility and destructiveness of war, Eleanor Roosevelt once stated: “No one won the last war, and no one will win the next war.” What she meant was that true peace is never achieved by war.

The narrative of our nation’s capital

Washington, DC is one of the world’s most popular tourist destinations. And while the DC experience represents an inspiring vision of the United States, it also provides an incomplete one.

First, while our monuments, statues, and memorials honor our country’s luminous heroes, few pay tribute to women and people of color.

These gleaming monuments and memorials are certainly moving and important, as they keep us forever connected to our past while helping us progress into the future. But they primarily honor past wars and recognize presidents who either served during wartime or achieved prominence in war.

Thus, the narratives put forth in our nation’s capital speak only part of our collective story, with a focus on white male leaders and armed conflict.

We do experience some monuments in Washington, DC that commemorate peacemakers: a Peace Monument(Naval Monument) located on the Capitol grounds, the Japanese American Memorial to Patriotism, The Arts of Peace Sculptures located at Rock Creek and Potomac Parkway, the inspiring Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial located on the National Mall, and the planned national U.S. Peace Memorial.

We must expand not only our memorials and monuments, but also our resources and energies to those working in conflict resolution – the activists dedicated to preventing wars and to bringing existing wars to diplomatic resolution, as well as the individuals of conscience who refuse to give over their minds, souls, and bodies to armed conflict.

As a nation, we must encourage the practitioners of nonviolent resistance in the face of tyranny and oppression. We must stand with the anti-war activists who strive to educate their peers, their citizenry, and, yes, their government about the perils of unjust armed conflict and incursions into lands not their own.

People who put their lives on the line to defend the country from very real threats to our national security and survival, like those in our nation’s military, are true patriots. But true patriots are also those who speak out, stand up, and challenge our governmental leaders, those who put their lives on the line by actively advocating for justice, freedom, and liberty through peaceful means.

Throughout human history, it is apparent that tyranny could at times only be countered by taking up arms. On numerous occasions, however, diplomacy has been successful, and at other times, it should have been used more extensively before rushing to war.

It is unacceptable when one’s patriotism and love of country is called into question because they advocate for peaceful means of conflict resolution, for it is also an act of patriotism to work to keep our courageous troops out of harm’s way and to create conditions that ultimately make war less likely.

We are once again a divided nation: politically, philosophically, economically, and spiritually. The theme of “values” has been dominant in recent public and political discourse. The promotion of peace should be ranked as one of the highest values deserving our immediate and sustained attention before more of our troops lose their precious lives, before a grieving family sheds another tear, and before the United States of America loses another ally in our struggle to keep our democratic republic.  

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