Making Peace While Studying War
by Lee Haponski, Spiritual Journey Writer
In the midst of researching the U.S. involvement in IndoChina during the mid-twentieth century, I’m also navigating a personal transition—retirement, alongside my longtime spouse, a Lt. Colonel USAF pilot. And I’ve got a few thoughts on making peace.
Fifty years after the Cold War conflict that got very hot for a few years, it’s easy to say that bombing a small underdeveloped country for peace was an oxymoron of the highest order. This was the first conflict that the newly formed US Air Force (previously a part of the army) had a major hand in fomenting strategy.
The phrase ‘Peace is Our Profession,’ adopted by the Air Force in the 1950s, encapsulated this paradox—where maintaining peace required the very machinery of war. The idea of deterrence through nuclear bombs became a cornerstone of Cold War strategy.
In 1964, the film,Dr. Strangelove—with its eccentric portrayal of military power gone haywire—satirized the absurdity of nuclear deterrence, where leaders and systems, while professing peace, might blindly lead us into destruction.
This absurdity is still relevant today, as we continue to confront the paradoxes of global conflict and peacekeeping.
And as we confront widespread changes and personal challenges in 2024, we must ask—has the essence of peace really changed? What does it look like in today’s world, where international conflicts and domestic strife continue to demand our attention?
Though I hold no position of political power, have no command of weaponry, I exert my human power. I can let go of judgement, seek to understand my fellow earthlings, and make whatever small offerings I can when I’m confronted with injustices and pain.
Remembering there’s infinite abundance allows me to release fear and allow the good that I know is mine and all of humanity’s to more easily manifest.
The paradox I now face is how to tell the stories of these pilots—who were trained in the art of war—while committing to the pursuit of peace.
To study war is to confront its complexities, but to write about it, I seek a different path—one that embodies the very ideals of making peace I strive to understand.
Immersion in the past and my acknowledgment of our country’s mistakes strengthens my commitment to live as peacefully as possible.
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