MILITARY BACKERS

I think of militarists as exalting military virtues / symbols, being comfortable following orders and with the military chain of command, advocating military preparedness, being the first to call for war, etc. — and I call myself one with some hesitancy.  While I don't doubt that waging modern war is the ultimate technological solution to problems essentially based on disputes between people, I know that great military leaders can nonetheless prefer diplomacy and see war as something to be avoided. Sometimes that isn’t possible. Sometimes evil is so entrenched that war is the only way to eradicate it.

PACIFISM/ NON-VIOLENCE

I think of pacifists as 1) opposed to using guns, war, violence to settle disputes and 2) preferring use of non-violent means to fight evil— rather than vengeance, capital punishment, etc—and I call myself one with some hesitancy.  While I see fighting violence with more violence as both morally wrong /contradictory, and don't believe good can come out of evil, I worry that if evil is not punished, not countered with strong action, then more evil will result. (Note: avoiding war through diplomacy, something pacifists applaud, is the ultimate attitudinal fix.)