Tonight as I sit here meditating about what recently occurred in Afghanistan.
(which hit home as I was stationed at Ft Lewis)
I am reminded of what Thich Nhat Hanh, a Vietnamese Buddhist priest, said to a group of Vietnam Veterans during a retreat years ago.
“The Non-Veterans were more responsible for the war than the Veterans. The very lifestyle of the non-veterans supports the institutions of War.”
The soldier who killed those civilians was there because of our lifestyle and the choices our country has made. Regardless of what one might think all things are interconnected, therefore there is no avoiding responsibility. Our society must change and stop sowing the seeds of war!
Source:
At Hell’s Gate: A Soldier’s Journey from War to Peace by Claude Anshin Thomas