I did it. Maybe because my father is a vet, maybe because I have seen my uncle in rages over dishes which I now know were PTSD episodes.

I became a Quaker.
and then,

I said "thank you for your service" to the guy in uniform at the airport, and today to the Medical Assistant who served at an prison in Iraq.

I am not torn about it. Only sad they were/are there. And not with their families, not all the time working for peace.

Besides the thank you, I can't get enough "gutspha(sp)" to say anything else. I also know that there are 3 reasons I am a peace-nic.
1) Peace trumps war any day on a practical level
2) Its Jesus' (and others') way
3) I am too scared to kill or be killed or even shot at.

The third reason sends pangs of guilt especially in this time of war, when I see soldiers or vets. I imagine their time being a complete violent drag, that I want no part of. The thank you is not patriotic, but more of a personal, "Thank you for doing what you do because I couldn't do it.

I do not like wars, I do not like this war, but I feel that I benefit from them. Can I change this? I know I as a planet we are harmed by it.