Violence Has a Purpose

"People...love to say that 'Violence never solved anything.' But what solved Hitler? Was it a team of social workers? Was it putting daisies into the gun barrels of Nazi Panzer divisions? Was it a commission that tried to understand what made Hitler so angry? No. What solved Hitler was violence." --Michael Medved

This is what drives me nuts about pacifism. It's a desire for peace taken to its most deranged extreme. Pacifism means submission to death. . .or worse. That's it, in a nutshell. History's pages are rife with examples of violence solving problems and ridding people of evils. Betimes, violence begets violence, I'm aware, and the Law of Unintended Consequences always is in effect. But situations occur in which violence is the only solution allowed by the opposing party. Some people understand and respect nothing but brute force.

Violence stemmed the tide of the Hunnish invasion; it ended Moorish usurper rule in Spain; it halted the Jihad at Poitiers, and grievously injured the Ottoman Empire's imperialist goals at Lepanto; it prevented the annihilation of Israel in several wars, and the engulfment of Kuwait and South Korea. I could go on and on.

Pacifism assumes a basic, inherent goodness within the hearts of ones supposed foes. As history and the local nightly news tells us, this is a specious assumption, a flight from reality. Covering one's eyes does not bring salvation from the pouncing lion. There are times when fire must be fought with fire, claw with claw, fang with fang. Circumstances arise in which we have no other choice.

If someone breaches my home's locked doors at night, with intent to harm, pacifism would see to it that I stand by and do nothing, while my family is assaulted and possibly killed. I can assure you, that ain't gonna happen.

Ever wonder why we don't hear the lamentations of pacifists from deep within war-torn territories? It's because they're cut-off early on, buried somewhere in a mass grave with all the other "peace-at-any-price" dreamers.

I remember a scene from the film Mars Attacks!; it's a silly movie, but one segment stands out in my mind as a great explanation of where pacifism takes people. In this scene, a ship lands in the desert and is surrounded by anxious humans, waiting in breathless anticipation for someone--or something--to emerge. A ramp extends, and little, harmless-looking Martians appear. An on-site hippie is overcome with emotion, at which point he releases a dove into the air. As it soars overhead, a Martian shoots it out of the sky, and everyone watches as it lands in a sizzling, featherless heap. The aliens then proceed to exterminate everyone in the vicinity--man, woman, and child. It never even occurs to most of these people that the immense alien buildup is a preliminary to an all-out assault on the human race. I'm not expecting extraterrestrial conquerors any time soon. We have enough problems and enough invaders to worry about, right here on the ground.

Don't be that dove.