There are many things that I have done in my life that I am glad that I did. And there are many things that I wish I had done differently. There are some things that I have done in my life that I am proud of. And there are some things that I did that I am ashamed of. But there are a lot of things that I have never done in my life—like serve in the military.
I don’t know which one of my articles a recent critic of mine is referring to. All she said was: “Your ludicrous comment about America doing the wrong thing by bombing Japan is sheer ignorance and nothing more than a useless opinion. My question is how long did you serve in the military?”
Because I have hundreds and hundreds of articles online—some of them dating back fifteen or twenty years—I regularly receive e-mail regarding old articles that someone stumbled across.
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I have no idea which article of mine my critic is referring to. I have condemned the atomic bombing of Japan in numerous articles and referred readers to the work of John Denson. I have also written here about the U.S. bombing of Japan before and after the atomic bombs were dropped.
I think it is “sheer ignorance” on the part of my critic to defend the U.S. atomic bombing of Japan when Admiral William Halsey, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral William Leahy, commander in chief of the U.S. Fleet and chief of naval operations Ernest King, Fleet Admiral Chester Nimitz, and General, and later President, Dwight Eisenhower all opposed the bombing.
Now, in answer the lady’s question about my military service, let me unapologetically, unashamedly, and unequivocally say: I have never served in the military. And not only have I never served, I have no regrets about it.
Just consider for a moment what it means to serve in the military:
- Bombing, invading, and occupying countries that posed no threat to the United States
- Fighting unjust wars
- Making widows and orphans
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- Fighting unnecessary wars
- Destroying foreign industry, infrastructure, and culture
- Fighting undeclared wars
- Engage in state-sponsored terrorism
- Fighting senseless wars
- Being part of the president’s personal attack force
- Fighting immoral wars
- Maiming and killing foreigners who were no threat to any American
By not serving in the military, I did not have to:
- Engage in offense while calling it defense
- Kill a civilian and call it collateral damage
- Practice military values of profanity, promiscuity, and pornography
- Be an accomplice to murder
- Blindly follow orders
- Experience PTSD because I had serious doubts about the justness of what I was doing
- Put my family through unnecessary hardship
- Help to carry out an evil, reckless, and interventionist U.S. foreign policy
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- Die in vain and for a lie
And you thought the military was serving the country, defending our freedoms, supporting and defending the Constitution, securing our borders, guarding American shores, patrolling American coasts, watching over American skies, protecting Americans from credible threats, and fighting “over there” so we don’t have to fight “over here.”
I have no regrets about not serving in the military, and no regrets about all the negative things I have said over the years about serving in the military. I have lost count of all the Vietnam, Iraq, and Afghan War veterans who have written to me expressing their regret and remorse, grief and guilt, or sorrow and shame about serving in the military. Although I have in my life experienced those emotions, it was never because I failed to serve in the military. I thank God that is some baggage I have never had to carry around.
