Florence American Cemetery | Day 86 of my 2023 Journal

It is with mixed emotions I visit the big graveyards in Europe. They are, of course, breathtaking. They make me stop. To think.

It is overwhelming to see the hundreds, thousands of marble stones. Reading the names. Or the lack of a name. We have visited two of them in Normandie, and now this.

Let us be clear:

War is a crime against humanity.
War is a crime against life.
War is a crime against all that is soft and kind, and humane.

There is no glory in war. Only war. 

Then again, I have to ask myself: what would have happened without the war against fascism?

Could and would I have been opposed to that?

This is one of the dilemmas I have to talk about, even though I do not have a solution to the problem like the schools. To be honest, I believe it would be a better world without schools, curricula, and mass instruction of children. Even though I do not have a solution to all of the practical problems, we would have as a society if we closed all of the schools. I still believe we would be better off if we did it.

In the same way, I take this stand against violence. All kinds of violence. It is simply not okay. The only force and use of power I find ethical is the one used to save lives. I will grab a child's arm very hard and pull the child towards me, with all of my force, if the child is running for the highway or getting too close to the edge of a cliff.

This is force and violence. And it is okay.

And now it becomes a real problem: is a war against fascism the same on a different scale?

I am not sure. I hope not. I hope it could have been done the Gandhi way, the peaceful way. I think, at least, we have to hope so. To try so. Try kindness and peace first.

Walking the graveyard and memorial yesterday with my husband and children and with my sister and her children sparked good conversations and deep thoughts. My oldest son just read a book where war is a deadly sin as it is an extreme waste of resources, the most valuable resources of all. I am reading Dante and on a similar thought pattern. So, we had an interesting conversation.

Love and light

Cecilie Conrad

# 86 of my 2023 writing challenge - Read them all here