my pride
i left this comment on sittingnut’s post , ’sri lankan army, our pride’.
i have and am going to continue to refrain from making any commentary on the situation that we’re facing right now, politically, as i mentioned on indi’s blog. i have noticed that getting into politically charged discussions don’t work on the net, almost always everything you say gets horribly misconstrued by others who have opinions and are as stubborn about them as you are, everyone is passionate about their point of view and no one really agrees to disagree. you may have noticed that i’m one of the few regular bloggers that haven’t made a post about the suicide bombing : it is not that i don’t care, it is that saying things on topics like this are mostly futile because right now everything is vague and everyone is hurt and no one really knows what to think. in fact, neither do i. and there is more possiblity than not that, stemming from something i say, i’ll be misinterpreted. i’d rather not have that.
however, i’ll make an exception for this particular post. i do not think the sri lankan army is our pride. i’m not unpatriotic, i don’t hate sri lanka or sri lankans, i am not pro-LTTE. i am not proud of the army, just like i am sure many tamil people are not proud of the LTTE, even though the LTTE claims to be fighting for their ‘freedom’, just like i am sure many americans are not proud of the bush regiment. i am not proud of war, violence or any establishment that condones or engages in violence or waging war. this is not to say that i don’t believe that a nation under threat doesn’t need the protection of authorities like the police, the army, the navy and the air force : that would be simply un realistic. to me, war and war wagers exist because that is what we have come to, it does not exist by the choice of the majority of the human race and it doesn’t exist for us to be proud of it. it simply exists. it is something i have to live with, one of the unfortunate realities and injustices of life and i am certainly not proud of it, but i do not deny it’s necessasity in certain times. personally, i cannot be proud of the sri lankan army as a sri lankan or any other sort of army for that matter, because that would be against the morals, values and ethics i have been taught to live by.
here’s something i didn’t say in this comment : i am not ashamed of being sri lankan or what the army is attempting to fight for, i am not angry with the soldiers. i do not resent them as people, and have nothing against them personally, nor do i undermine the immense bravery they display by being soldiers. they are admirable, for sure. i simply do not agree with the concept of war and the i do not feel the need to be ‘proud’ of armies or of war. like i said, i see war as something i must simply tolerate for it is beyond me to fix, like misery and disease and hunger and poverty.
bold
Comment by kulendra — April 26, 2006 @ 7:06 pm
yeah, very well said…
Comment by Savi — April 26, 2006 @ 9:42 pm
I don’t think SN was proud about the army’s fighting skills and what not. I think he was referring to their very very impressive restraint despite constant attacks on their colleagues and their leaders. Every other day a landmine has been going off killing and maiming several soldiers. The tension that they undergo in such a situation, not knowing when they’ll be next but knowing that they can’t fight back, is something that you and I can’t even hope to relate to. Despite this, they have staunchly upheld the ceasefire (ceasefire violations by the LTTE number 3535 whilst that of the army number 169) for a prolonged period. That is something tremendously admirable. I’ve never felt a particular affinity towards our army (though i respect them a hundred times more than our cops), but this restraint under severe pressure makes my heart swell.
Comment by ddm — April 26, 2006 @ 9:43 pm
Its less a matter of pride than appreciation for them and what they have done, especially in the current situation as ddm mentioned. And yes the restraint that they have shown is admirable, a sign of maturity compared to what they were like 20 years ago. I personally am not proud of our country having an army but I am deeply appreciative for the sacrifices they have made so I could sleep safely at night in Colombo.
Comment by childof25 — April 26, 2006 @ 10:39 pm
electra:
thanks for the comment.
ddm and childof25:
thanks for understanding why we should be proud of army
here is my reply to electra in my blog
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electra :
i have and am going to continue to refrain from making any commentary on the situation that we’re facing right now, politically,…..i’ll be misinterpreted. i’d rather not have that.
everybody gets misinterpreted (and not only on the net and not only on politics). imo that should not prevent us from expressing ourselves on any subject anywhere.
it is that saying things on topics like this are mostly futile because right now everything is vague and everyone is hurt and no one really knows what to think.
imo ppl in a democracy should think about politics not just after events like 25th.
this(my post) is not a heat of the moment post ideas here were expressed before and when reading others i have the idea that they were also results of long held ideas expressed at an appropriate moment, not random thoughts expressed without thinking.
i’m not unpatriotic, i don’t hate sri lanka or sri lankans,
nobody said you weren’t.
to me, war and war wagers exist because that is what we have come to, it doesnt not exist by the choice of the majority of the human race
i am not sure it does not exist by choice of the majority
and it doesn’t exist for us to be proud of it.
it exist to protect us. we are proud of it . there is a difference.
it was also, in the context of this post, what prevented war from breaking out from december by taking huge number of causalities with discipline and restraint. we should be proud of that and should express our pride
i cannot be proud of the sri lankan army as a sri lankan or any other sort of army for that matter, because that would be against the morals, values and ethics i have been taught to live by.
can we be proud of our values but not those who defend them?
can we admire non violence but not be proud of the person who does not hit back when hit.
can we be proud of our life but not of the person who is willing to lay his life down to protect it?
i do not think the sri lankan army is our pride.
it may not be yours but it is ours.
Comment by sittingnut — April 27, 2006 @ 2:34 am
Not agreeing with the concept of war and not feeling proud of the war wagers are two very different things. I too do not agree with the concept of war as nothing good ever comes out of it. On the other hand “war wagers” in this case the soldiers, are not fighting this war by choice. Imagine how much you would dread to do something that you don’t like. Now imagine you running the chance of getting killed in the process. If that is not supreme sacrifice I don’t know what is. This I feel is enough reason to be proud of our Army.
Comment by Horus — April 27, 2006 @ 6:24 am
I don’t agree with your views, but you sound like a very sweet and honest person
Comment by Just Mal — April 27, 2006 @ 7:44 am
You do not need to be proud of your army. But you are quite right: there is nothing you can do about war. There is a massive back-catalogue of philosophy on war, focussing on when and whether it is ‘just’. It is widely accepted to be just if it is defensive. I think, since you are amongst those being defended, your argument is a tricky one to maintain.
Comment by ASH Smyth — April 27, 2006 @ 1:04 pm