Captain Paul K. Chappell of the U.S. Army writes a very persuasive book with his Will War Ever End? A Soldier’s Vision of Peace for the 21st Century. Comparing the tolerance of war to the tolerance of slavery, serfdom, and subjugation of women — all of which are now almost universally deemed unacceptable and unthinkable– Chappell argues that through peaceful demonstration to governments and global re-education of people, we can see the end to war in our lifetime. Halleluiah, I’m on board.
In this slim volume, Chappell manages to pack in clear reasoning and solid support for his multi-part argument, drawing on sources as diverse as Socrates, Einstein, Smedley Butler (at the time of his death, he was the most decorated marine in U.S. history), and Martin Luther King to buttress his points that: war drives people insane; the biggest problem of every army is how to stop soldiers from running away; being loving allows us to be brave; cooperation is the key to our survival; unconditional love builds an indestructible bond between people; we have a stronger instinct to posture (scare away) than to kill; fury motivates us to protect our loved ones; hatred is always painful; unconditional love is inherently joyful; and unconditional love is stronger than hatred. All this points add up to a common sense conclusion that war can be eradicated given our fear of violence, our hope for preservation and survival, and our capacity for love.
Chappell recognizes that government leaders decide on war (and the machinery, including private business, behind government representatives) and not the people. By letting government know that we will not take war as a choice any more (he uses the suffragette movement, the work of Ghandi, and the Bonus Marchers after World War One as inspiration) and by educating people as to the truth of his five-part argument above, war can end both in terms as how it is tolerated and as how we view it as inevitable. War is not inevitable, it is as much as choice as enslaving a whole people based on race, and that choice can be turned around. Chappell points to the Enlightenment as the first major event in human history when accepted modes of government and how people should be ruled/governed were rejected and the now internationally accepted concepts of freedom of self-determination, liberty of choice, and individual human worth were proclaimed. He calls for a second Enlightenment, one that recognizes man is not violent by nature and therefore doomed to war, but is instead inherently preservative of life, especially of human life (he does understand that by labeling the enemy as less than human, war mongers succeed in promoting war).
Coming from a West Point graduate, Iraqi war veteran, and current Captain in the U.S. Army, as well as being the son of a man who fought in Korea and Vietnam, this argument is especially moving and doubly-heartfelt. He knows whereof he speaks and his knowledge and his words are powerful. He ends his book with clear and strong indictments of war from past soldiers of valor, including Dwight D. Eisenhower, George Orwell, Leo Tolstoy, Ghandi, and Antoine de Saint-Exupery.
Chappell is working on the follow-up volume to this book, Peaceful Revolution, a guide on how to re-think the question of war and eliminate all war mongering. I look forward to following his noble battle to end all battles and I will be one who joins in spreading the message: war can end in the 21st century.
