To the Editor:
My apologies to all who have served in Afghanistan, especially those who are finally asking: What was it all for?

My sincere condolences to those who have lost a loved one there. My deepest sympathy to all who are suffering, American and Afghan, products of the past 20 years.

In those years, I marched locally and in New York City, protesting President George W. Bush and the war. Being older than those who ran to sign up, I saw a larger vision and deeper understanding of what was going on and I spoke out against it.

It was, once again, the use of our young people as fodder to satiate the greedy and power hungry. It cloaked itself in patriotism and jingoism, arousing bright and dedicated youth to assist in its deceit. It used the 9/11 tragedy as its focal point to energize and persuade our caring but naive youth to their cause.

With Afghanistan, rich in untouched resources and an opening to wield power over the Middle East oil along with pathological nationalism the catastrophe that was enabled, unfolded. We have seen similar reflections of immoral war in both Korea and Vietnam.

War has always been the game of old men willing to shroud their own dark side in the blood of youth. What we need to remember and learn from those wars is that there was no choice because of the draft. We have a choice now and in the future.

War is an evil blanketed in false morality. It really is time to inform the next generation that the way forward is not through killing and maiming.

War is a remnant of the past, of humanity’s childhood.

The real heroes who should be thanked for their service are those who struggle for peace, those who inform through their journalistic exposure, those who unveil the effect of global policies that contribute to injustice and unrest, those who teach peace and awareness that we are a global community and nationalism can be harmful and misused.

We need to teach critical thinking before another generation allows itself to be slaughtered both physically and mentally. It really is time to lay down our mindset of battle for anything other than self-protection within our borders.

We need to evolve into global citizens, marching past hate, greed, and the deceit of leaders. We need to say no to service in the grip of archaic war.

We must grow up and help lead the world into pastures of peace and health. We must start by educating the next generation that war is no longer viable. War begets war and it is time to say: No more; I will not participate.

The way to peaceful coexistence is through good policy, truth, openness, dialogue, and diplomacy. Peace will only come by practicing peace.

May we learn from our history. May we awaken to a new way of seeing and being.

Joan Storey

Guilderland