歪歪漫画

What we鈥檝e come to call Veterans Day was once Armistice Day, the day we made peace. I鈥檇 like that back.

The holiday commemorates the armistice signed between the Allies and Germany after World War I. It was signed in France on the "11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month" of 1918. Armistice Day, still celebrated by most Allied countries, became Veterans Day in the U.S. three decades later.

At this point, I think we are far from peace. Between the war in Palestine, new militarization of the Arctic, space and oceans, and mutually assured destruction (M.A.D.), war is at a whole new level.

In this season, when the Christian, Jewish, and Muslim traditions focus their eyes on their 鈥淗oly Land,鈥� a horrible story is unfolding. What we are witnessing in the Holy Land is the destruction of a country 鈥� Palestine.

In the month since the Oct. 7 Hamas massacre, more than 1,400 people in Israel and 7,000 Palestinians have been killed amid fighting between Israel and Hamas. Fatalities are not surprising, given the intensity and scale of the bombardment.

鈥淭he numbers that we鈥檙e seeing of casualties are generally in line with what we would expect, given the number of airstrikes in one of the most densely populated areas on Earth,鈥� Omar Shakir, the Israel and Palestine director at Human Rights Watch,

As thousands of buildings are bombarded, almost half the Palestinian people are now displaced. And, $14.5 million more of that is going to be with my tax dollars. I cannot support this. It鈥檚 genocide.

I am horrified by it all. An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth, is really going to get us all killed.

To make this point, just think about the nuclear arms doctrine: M.A.D., mutually assured destruction. Simply put, each side has enough nuclear weapons to destroy the other side. Either side, if attacked for any reason by the other, would retaliate with equal or greater force. The expected result is an immediate, irreversible escalation resulting in both combatants' mutual, total, and assured destruction. Or complete annihilation.

Well, that seems kind of a lousy idea. I would rather have peace, than all of this, and maybe one day, we have only veterans of peace, not of war.

(I found it funny that the term "mutual assured destruction" was coined by Donald Brennan at the Hudson Institute in the early 1960s. Brennan came up with this acronym ironically, spelling out the English word "mad" to argue that holding weapons capable of destroying society was irrational. I would say so.)

As I look over there at North Dakota, or maybe Fort Ripley, I sure see a lot of capability to destroy society. What a nice world we have, let鈥檚 not do that.

The United States led the ranking of countries with highest military spending in 2022, with $877 billion dedicated to the military. The Department of Defense budget is more than that of China, Russia, India, Saudi Arabia, UK, Germany, France, South Korea, Japan, and Ukraine combined. That鈥檚 a lot of tax dollars. We could fix up a few things here, and then, well, help resolve conflicts elsewhere by reducing stress. People need food, water, infrastructure and well being. And, let鈥檚 take better care of veterans.

What if we used that money to clean up wells, build some water pipes for people, reforest and create conditions where life could flourish, not be scorched? There are good ways to make peace, and certainly we should try them.

Let鈥檚 say that we celebrate the Armistice again, and make more peace, and less war. And maybe we will have fewer veterans in the future because of that. Veterans should not have such high rates of homelessness nor die from weird diseases from our war machines. They should not be sent for frivolous wars to protect corporations. Lives should be worth more, all of them. And upon their return, they should be cared for. Sadly, veterans鈥� benefits are a miniscule percentage of the military budget.

During Armistice and Veterans Day, I think often of Buffy Sainte-Marie鈥檚 song, 鈥淯niversal Soldier鈥�:

鈥淗e's five foot-two and he's six feet-four
He fights with missiles and with spears
He's all of 31 and he's only 17
Been a soldier for a thousand year鈥�

These soldiers deserve peace as well.

In the old days, we used to make agreements with each other for peace. The Anishinaabe and the Dakota, for instance, have the Sweet Corn Treaty of 1858. We even had a demilitarized zone, the Red River Valley. And, maybe, if two Native Nations were in conflict, there might be a long Medicine Game. That鈥檚 called lacrosse today, it鈥檚 known as the Little Brother of War in our territory. The game might go for days. The conflict would be settled there.

Certainly, when I look at Palestine and Jerusalem I weep. I wish it was those medicine game days again. And that peace was valued more than war. I am going to keep hoping for an Armistice Day. And I am going to pray and work for peace.

Winona LaDuke is an Ojibwe writer and economist on Minnesota鈥檚 White Earth Reservation. She is also owner of Winona's Hemp and a regular contributor to Forum News Service.