Humanity is Our Side

No formation.

Ponchos on to ward off the rain.

Putty colored by the incessant wet.

They are made of some kind of metal and seem trapped in time. They are there to help us remember those lost in a conflict in Korea.

I remember it was not a war. It was a “police action.” That didn’t make much difference to those who gave their lives in that distant battlefield.

I was stationed in Korea, later.

I was part of the generation that came home from a posting elsewhere but there was a lost war. Like many I was spat upon.

I was told my pride in the men and women that stood beside me was feckless by people that had never served.

This weekend I wanted to honor those that died in battle which is what our American memorial day is supposed to be about. That is why I found the photo which appears above in my files. I wanted to feel the twinge of fear and pride that goes with a patrol living and breathing as one as they slog into the unknown.

I got more than I bargained for.

I felt myself thinking about all the men and women that have given their lives over the centuries on each side of the battle. I thought of the French that Napoleon led to Russia, never to return. The German soldiers that didn’t understand what it meant when a “trapped” commander responded “Nuts!” to a surrender request. How both sides in Kosovo lost someone beloved by them. The thought of boy soldiers in Africa made me wince.

I came to the conclusion that humanity is “our side.”

All of us are grown from the same roots. Our progenitors wandered across the face of the earth. We picked up tribal lore that was “unique to us.” We became enamored of religions that have such slight differences we have to argue about them in order to rationalize the wars that have raged in their name. We choose to fight rather than feast on the differences.

Pick a war, any war.

After the fact, when the historians and geographers strip away all the politics, every war is fought for reasons that have nothing to do with words that send people scurrying to, what for them, is the appropriate banner.

Will I fight?

Yes. I have and would again. But now I do it with the respect that one warrior owes another.

A truce is the first step.

I think I might try something that takes more courage than fighting. In the first World War Germans, French, English and Americans left their trenches, shared what little food they had and celebrated Christmas in No-Man’s land. They disobeyed their Officers, their noncoms and the bureaucrats in their chain of command. They got to know each other and after the war, those that survived saluted their opponents.

Auggie, this one is for you.

It is for your courage in marrying a Filipino girl and still putting in to fly choppers in 'Nam. It is for the kids you helped save there. I think we both knew you wouldn’t come back. I saw your name on the memorial in DC and wept. Anyway, my friend, I live today in your beloved Oregon. What you told me is part of why I settled here.

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His consulting practice, founded in 1990, is known for Trust-based Brand development, Positioning and business development on and off-line. He is also a sought-after International Speaker.

Consulting: www.JerryFletcher.com
Speaking: www.NetworkingNinja.com

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