While we take this Memorial Day to remember those killed by war — all of them, not just "ours" {1} — we must also be working to do everything we can to prevent there from being more dead to remember.
There should not be a debate about whether or not it’s okay to break international law (it’s not) or bomb hospitals (it’s not) or take hostages (it’s not) or target civilians (it’s not) or persecute others for their ethnicity (it’s not) or kill hostages (it’s not) or strike at civilians getting immunizations (it’s not) and whether we should be supporting those who do any of those things (we shouldn’t be).
We can argue the realpolitik of war and military actions, sure. Sometimes, violence is the only answer to another’s violence. At the same time:
Simply remembering the dead is just worrying about the final step of the trolley problem while ignoring those tying people to the tracks. Here’s a place to start: https://www.amnesty.org/en/petition/demand-a-ceasefire-by-all-parties-to-end-civilian-suffering/
{1} That’s Veteran’s Day, in November.
Featured Photo by Janne Simoes on Unsplash