‘Our Indifference To Ourselves’ – Beyond The ‘Virtue’ Of Self-Sacrifice – Part 1? Archived Message
Posted by sashimi on May 28, 2023, 9:09 am, in reply to "does anyone have the ML editors Tolstoy quote - probably need RhG"
(quote) An obvious question arises: why would these cheering young men race to sign up for a 'glorious adventure' that was so clearly not in their own self-interests? Even if they couldn't always imagine the full scale of the inferno to come, war clearly meant they would be torn from homes, jobs, loved ones, families and friends; that they would have to violently kill and be killed. Tolstoy, who had also experienced the grim reality of war first-hand, explained this 'enthusiasm' for war with typical honesty: 'From infancy, by every possible means - class books, church services, sermons, speeches, books, papers, songs, poetry, monuments - the people is stupefied in one direction' - militant patriotism. (Tolstoy, 'Writings On Civil Disobedience and Non-Violence,' New Society, 1987, p.95) The 'enthusiasm', then, is crudely manufactured in a way that hides the reality: 'before they look round, there will be no more admirals, presidents, or flags, or music; but only a damp and empty field of battle, cold, hunger, and pain; before them a murderous enemy; behind, relentless officers preventing their escape; blood, wounds, putrefying bodies, and senseless, unnecessary death'. (/quote) -- https://www.medialens.org/2021/our-indifference-to-ourselves-beyond-the-virtue-of-self-sacrifice-part-1/
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