the BIG question of the military that Tom raises is worth exploring. I'm working on identifying as a revolutionary pacifist, in the tradition of Ghandi, Thoreau, A.J. Muste, Emma Goldberg. Yet I used to do Tae Kwon Do with my daughters, who are still involved in that martial art. I believe that everyone should be trained in the use of their body--in its capacities for self-defense. For one thing, the ability to use one's body well can level the playing field--so to speak--between a 100 lb. teenaged girl or boy and a 250 lb. attacker. (Someone convert that to stones for our british friends or do y'all think in kilos now?)
But this should be conducted in a loving way--the philosophy behind most of the martial arts as they evolved in the various Eastern traditions, influenced by Confucianism and often Buddhism and Daoism, as I understand it from my experience in TKD, is that the knowledge of and use of force needs to be developed carefully, and in concert with philosophical and intellectual training. It readily gets distorted into being about winning, defeating, killing one's opponent. But that mentality violates the spirit of Buddhism, Daoism, and the Confucianist tradition--read the I'Ching, which was a handbook for rulers in China; it's always cautioning against doing more than you need, seeking to conquer for the sake of greed.
With the capitalistic structure we have in place, especially in the US, where moneyed interests are always behind the use and deployment of our military around the world, with the paucity of thought related to social and economic justice in the circles which have the power over this massive military force, the military serves to lock in place and protect the economic interests of the powerful, at the expense of the lives and livelihoods of poor people. |
