A subject that I usually shudder at since I myself am planning to enlist in the military, I sometimes wonder if it is the right place for me on a religious perspective. There are people on both sides of the field who will say that those of strong religious conviction should either go into the military or should avoid it like the plague. Being that it is about killing people and furthering its respective nation's interest, many see the military as a corrupt snake that will strike whether or not it is provoked. But should I or other Pagans go in considering its spotted history?
Considering that I can only speak for myself in such matters that is what I will do. When it comes to war and fighting the bad guys- something that I see as a subjective title depending on who is doing what- I have no qualms with it. Being that I don't follow the Wiccan Rede of Harm None, I'm not tied on any religious laws from the get go on how to treat the military. The thing that makes me hesitant is that once you enlist you are essentially the property of the government, forced to do as they wish or else. Decide to not fight a war you see as wrong and not only are you kicked out but are stigmatized by the people in some cases. It may not happen all the time, but it happens enough to where one would be justified in being worried. Being that many of us Pagans are about peace and loving their fellow man, armed services seems like the very antithesis of what it means to be Pagan. I can't forget about my brothers and sisters who are not as kumbaiyah as I am, but for those eco-Pagans I know what the deal is.
Everytime this comes up I wonder if I'm doing the right thing by Divinity and the children of their heart by doing bullet diplomacy. Sometimes war is the only option and in those cases I advocate fighting until all the stars die. In others where the line between good guy and bad guy are a lot more blurred? That's when things start getting shady... What if I fight for my country and end up being the bad guy? What if by my enlistment I open myself to being ordered to violate another country's rights? End up doing things that will haunt me for the rest of my life? I may be going into the technological field but that job field won't safeguard my ass if everything hits the floor and we start getting desperate for soldiers. Even sadder is that I have to think about situations like this, which hurt my already distrustful view of the armed forces. Were it not for the choices I made in early life I highly doubt I'd be going into the military. In my opinion you lose your sense of self, which is the point of basic training mind you, but just that it becomes a hive mentality instead of everyone being able to think for themselves. Instead you have someone else who thinks for you, makes all the decisions of who to kill without giving much feedback on who they really are as a people.
Mind you that in the cloud of war things like that become unimportant, but it highlights the issue of being desensitized to your fellow man, being more willing to kill than handle things by other means. Were I not I'm the situation I put myself in and were I giving advice to a fellow Pagan considering the military I would leave it up to them but have my personal opinion to be no, don't join. It's not all bad and it is definately an honorable path to take for those who go in for the right reasons. Its just that the setbacks military life can have on you on an emotional, psychological, and personality basis is so costly that even for religious reasons I would advocate for other routes to be taken. Even with myself I understand that there are some things the military has that I can't get anywhere else in the same intensity. The thought of soldier life is attractive to me in its own way, so I would have to adjust my reasoning as sort if a weary love relationship. I know exactly what I'm getting myself into, but feel as though I'm strong enough to combat the costs within reason. Religiously its not the best choice mind you, but something I'm willing to take part of for the right reasons.
No comments:
Post a Comment