Imagine there's no countries
It isn't hard to do
Nothing to kill or die for
And no religion, too
Imagine all the people
Living life in peace.
John Lennon
Some time after high school graduation, I sat with a sensitive and shy young man who was frightened as he had been drafted into the war. I cried when he left, and I cried when he died shortly thereafter. I diligently wrote to college friends, who became officers in the war. I prayed for their safe physical return, not knowing of the emotional scars they would carry for life. In the presence of a maimed soldier returned from war, I listened as he hissed his bitterness as he fought urges to take his own life. I sat in the presence of a mid-life friend who lived wildly out of guilt for being the only survivor from his squad. Time and again I witnessed the lives of men destroyed as they struggled with PTSD. In even later years, I would become acquainted with a man whose body continuously fought a losing battle against the deathly harm caused by agent orange. I will forever respect and honor all of these men, but I will never condone war.
*I have not referenced women who have bravely fought in war, as this was based on personal history only.
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