Three rails of pacifism, and each is off-track

No person is easier defeated than one who holds nothing worthy of defense. The board of directors at Goshen College, a Mennonite school in Indiana, fits that category to some extent. But the Mennonite pacifism is at least partially pure. Secular pacifism can’t make that claim.

Mennonites are traditional pacifists, shunning war and confrontation no matter the provocation. In that spirit Goshen has deemed the Star Spangled Banner inappropriate because it incorporates war and military power in national defense. The national anthem therefore violates the school’s religious standards and will no longer be heard at Goshen’s sporting events.

Goshen is within its rights to bypass the national anthem, although their decision will doubtlessly offend many Americans. But simply possessing that right doesn’t mean Goshen deserves a free pass. Their pacifist doctrine contains inconsistencies that warrant examination.

The Mennonite pacifism is based on their understanding of Jesus Christ as a peacemaker. Jesus didn’t kill other human beings; he didn’t fight wars. Thus his followers must also shun violence no matter the provocation. No doubt Jesus was a peaceful man. But did Jesus exemplify a pacifist, peace-at-all-cost attitude? Maybe not.

Jesus didn’t yield when resistance was warranted. He repeatedly and publicly chastised community and religious leaders for their hypocrisies. Jesus was anything but meek when he physically drove the frauds and con artists from the Temple courtyard. Furthermore, Jesus gave credence to the idea of a just conflict when he said, “if my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight, that I might not be delivered.”

America isn’t a kingdom. But it is our sovereign slice of this world. Sorry Mennonites, but Jesus didn’t teach absolute capitulation as a tenet of discipleship. In fact, his teachings prevent no one from participating in their own defense.

The Mennonite attitude toward war is a moral pacifism, even if somewhat naïve. Their passivity is based on a quest for spiritual purity; it is their constitutional and ecclesiastical right. Secular pacifists, conversely, practice a pacifism that is unclear, indefensible, and inaccurate.

Intellectual pacifism deplores warfare not because of religious beliefs but philosophical ideals. This person never considers war a valid response to any provocation. War, in the intellectual pacifist’s mind, is invariably based on lies. Not even America’s role in World War II is immune from this viewpoint.

According to intellectual pacifists, Germany posed no threat to the United States, their army couldn’t have crossed the Atlantic, and Americans wouldn’t be speaking German if not for our military adventurism in Europe. But their arguments are untenable.

Germany didn’t possess the amphibious capability necessary to cross the Atlantic and assault America’s east coast. However, Germany’s desire to confront the United States dates to the late 19th Century. That dream became an obsession for Hitler. According to James Duffy’s book, Target: America: Hitler’s Plan to Attack America, Nazi Germany had both ambitions and plans for striking the United States.

Germany’s “Amerika Bombers” were long-range aircraft designed and produced to varying degrees by Messerschmitt, Junkers, Heinkel, and other German aviation firms. As the name implies, those bombers were intended to fly transoceanic raids on the U.S. mainland. Germany also considered occupying the Azores as a refueling station for the Amerika Bombers. Another strategy employed seaplane bombers, with submarines serving as seaborne refueling stations. Germany was also developing rocket propulsion, hoping to produce guided or piloted missiles that could reach New York.

Certainly the value of such raids, had they materialized, would’ve been more psychological than strategic. But Germany unquestionably desired to strike the U.S. mainland. And the idea of a ground assault on the U.S. wasn’t ignored either.

Germany attempted to forge relationships in South and Central America, including Mexico. The objective was to secure a base for launching a ground offensive across our southern border. Was such an invasion feasible? The U.S. military thought so. Furthermore, had intellectual pacifists met the theoretical Nazi offensive the only thing stopping Germany’s northward march would’ve been the Canadian border.

Intellectual pacifism ignores contemporary belligerence, regardless its source, just as it still ignores Nazi Germany’s aggression. Their worldview contradicts the venerable truism, “If there’s nothing worth dying for there’s nothing worth living for.” What, then, is the intellectual pacifist’s reason for being?

On pacifism’s third rail is the immoral pacifist. The immoral pacifist differs from both the moral and intellectual pacifist, but is closer aligned to the later. Neither a thirst for spiritual clarity nor an innate preference for surrender drives the immoral pacifist. Political expediency motivates their attitude, which is personified in the anti-war marcher.

This mindset selectively deploys anti-war sentiment where it can best serve a political goal. For instance, leftwing ideologues used the Iraq War to demonize President Bush, claiming he waged an unauthorized and illegal conflict. Both charges were lies. Congress authorized military force against Iraq and the operation was conducted within those guidelines.

The Iraq War protester has been conspicuously absent since a preferred president, President Obama, joined the United States to the Libyan fray. And Obama is waging an illegal war. He authorized military action without Congress’ consent. He has ignored the timelines for unilateral presidential action outlined in the War Powers Act and obfuscated Congress’ attempts to understand his adventurism. Yet the immoral pacifists are deafening only in their silence.

The moral pacifist can be challenged with their own religious doctrines. Yet they can defend their pacifism on ecclesiastical grounds. For the intellectual pacifist there are fewer defenses. Their pacifism isn’t grounded on a quest for spiritual truth but a combination of foolhardiness and ignorance. No logic is apparent in the intellectual pacifist’s dismissal of all war as unwarranted. There’s no defense whatsoever for the immoral pacifist. Their objectives are political, based on falsehood and opportunism.

Ironically, Goshen College’s ban of the Star Spangled Banner fulfills its commitment to higher education. The board’s decision laid bare the three rails of pacifism, none of which secure a nation’s sovereignty. In fact, any nation trying to run on pacifism’s track is hurtling toward derailment.