A Fitting Memorial



Paul Chappell in Iraq

In college, Paul Chappell learned that socialism was practical.  He read Noam Chomsky and Howard Zinn, and believed that the Iraq war violated international law and the Nuremberg Principles. He studied Gandhi and Martin Luther King, Jr.

Paul Chappell's college was West Point, where Chomsky was asked to lecture on whether Iraq was a just war.  Chappell became an officer stationed in Iraq, installing a defensive system to counteract mortars and artillery.  Today he is the author of The End of War and an advocate for waging peace.  In an interview in the April issue of The Sun (part of which is online here):  "Yes, West Point teaches that war is so dangerous, it should be used only as a last resort. I learned that the United States needs to rely more on diplomacy; that politicians don’t understand war and are too quick to use it as a means of conflict resolution. West Point also teaches that if you want to understand war, you have to understand its limitations and unpredictability. World War i and World War ii both started out as limited conflicts and grew into global blood baths. War is like a natural disaster. You can’t control it."

People who must fight the wars know what letting loose the dogs of war means.  Many times over the years some soldiers who returned spoke and wrote eloquently about that reality.  Erich Maria Remarque's relentless evocations of the first World War in All Quiet on the Western Front and Spark of Life told of the realities of modern war from the soldiers point of view, long after governments on both sides had comforted their citizens with exhibits of spacious bunkers and luxurious trenches.  Not much has changed.

Chapell's lessons in socialism, by the way, were of West Point itself, and the U.S. Army: "If I said to most Americans that we should have a society that gives everyone three meals a day, shelter, healthcare, and a college education, and that it should be based on selflessness, sacrifice, and service rather than greed, they’d say, “That’s socialism.” But that’s the U.S. military. A lot of conservative Republicans who think socialism is the ultimate evil admire the military."


Paul Chappell today

 The military isn't a utopia, Chapell says, but the ethical basis of socialism and the ethics soldiers learn--to depend on each other--are the same: "When I try to persuade people that America should have universal healthcare, I say, “You know, in the military we have universal healthcare, and the military believes that you should never leave a fallen comrade behind. You take care of everyone.”

On the day to remember those who gave their lives in this country's name, it is appropriate to announce again the goal of ending such deaths, especially the needless.  Right now in particular this world has no more time,  no resources, and no more capable and idealistic young people to give to war.