{"id":283,"date":"2017-03-31T11:48:20","date_gmt":"2017-03-31T17:48:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/mollywingate\/?p=283"},"modified":"2017-03-31T11:48:20","modified_gmt":"2017-03-31T17:48:20","slug":"warrior-turned-pacificist","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/mollywingate\/2017\/03\/warrior-turned-pacificist\/","title":{"rendered":"Warriors’ Writing Expresses Their Pacificism"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

\"WritingMeeting_Batali\"<\/p>\n

A writing workshop for military veterans introduced me to warriors who had become pacifists. I worried that my views and beliefs would not be welcome here, but I was completely wrong. They accepted me just as I am. The Warrior Writers<\/a> project came to a local community college to help the instructors understand their soldier students in hopes of encouraging more success. \u00a0They then gave a writing workshop I was allowed to participate in.<\/p>\n

The veterans voiced their jaded views about the many SUVs with yellow ribbon magnets on them. \u201cI\u2019d like to write \u2018blood for oil\u2019 on all of them and see if anyone get it,\u201d one man said. All of them, men and women, didn\u2019t know what to say to some stranger who approached them to say, \u201cThank you for your service.\u201d \u00a0None of them wanted to be called a hero. They had doubts about what they had done and why.<\/p>\n

One Veteran\u2019s Poetry<\/h3>\n

Here is a poem by Michael Applegate, a veteran, from a collection of writing and art called Warrior Writers<\/em>. \u00a0The book was put together and published in 2014 by the Warrior Writers Project. He seems like a pacifist to me.<\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Please Don\u2019t<\/p>\n

Please don\u2019t call me a hero, I\u2019ll break down and cry<\/p>\n

I didn\u2019t do it for you, I believed in their lies<\/p>\n

Please don\u2019t make me your martyr, because I did not die<\/p>\n

Others suffered far worse, people we\u2019ve come to despise<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Please don\u2019t pity me for joining, because I was poor<\/p>\n

Money for college? My soul now a whore<\/p>\n

Please don\u2019t believe security\u2019s worth trading freedoms for<\/p>\n

Remember to honor the warrior and not the war!<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Please don\u2019t think patriotism is black and white,<\/p>\n

Dissent is in my blood, I will stand up and fight<\/p>\n

Please don\u2019t let us approach democracy\u2019s twilight<\/p>\n

It\u2019s more than just paper, our Bill of Rights<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Please don\u2019t listen to pundits from the Pentagon<\/p>\n

Truth, the first casualty, the search will go on<\/p>\n

Please don\u2019t sit back and watch it all come undone<\/p>\n

We must all fight for change,\u00a0E Pluribus Unum!<\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Please don\u2019t stop loving this country, yours and mine,<\/p>\n

I need your help; and we\u2019re running out of time<\/p>\n

Please don\u2019t forgive them for their war crimes<\/p>\n

Treason murder, these things not sublime<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Please don\u2019t label me a commie, hippie or coward<\/p>\n

My conscience my guide, peace is the way forward<\/p>\n

Please don\u2019t leave us behind, like trash to discard<\/p>\n

We are more than just sheep that suicide has slaughtered<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Please don\u2019t just pray that things will get better<\/p>\n

Try just a little, we can at least write a letter<\/p>\n

Please don\u2019t trust them, not one fucking senator<\/p>\n

They\u2019re all alike, they\u2019d pimp their own mother<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Please don\u2019t hate me if you disagree with what I say<\/p>\n

Freedom of speech, my gift to you, don\u2019t take it away<\/p>\n

Please don\u2019t allow this to go on; not one more day<\/p>\n

The longer this goes on, the more we all pay.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

photo: WritingMeeting_Batali, wikimedia.com<\/h6>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A writing workshop for military veterans introduced me to warriors who had become pacifists. I worried that my views and beliefs would not be welcome here, but I was completely wrong. They accepted me just as I am. The Warrior Writers project came to a local community college to help the instructors understand their soldier […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2683,"featured_media":287,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[65,22,47,66,30,64],"class_list":["post-283","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-pacificist","tag-peace","tag-speaking-up","tag-veteran","tag-war","tag-writing"],"yoast_head":"\nWarriors' Writing Expresses Their Pacificism<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The writing workshop for military veterans introduced me to warriors who had become pacifists. I worried that my views and beliefs would not be welcome.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/mollywingate\/2017\/03\/warrior-turned-pacificist\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Warriors' Writing Expresses Their Pacificism\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The writing workshop for military veterans introduced me to warriors who had become pacifists. I worried that my views and beliefs would not be welcome.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/mollywingate\/2017\/03\/warrior-turned-pacificist\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Molly Wingate, Plain Speaking\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2017-03-31T17:48:20+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/746\/2017\/03\/WritingMeeting_Batali-e1490981780647.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"600\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"450\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Molly Wingate\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Molly Wingate\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/mollywingate\/2017\/03\/warrior-turned-pacificist\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/mollywingate\/2017\/03\/warrior-turned-pacificist\/\",\"name\":\"Warriors' Writing Expresses Their Pacificism\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/mollywingate\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2017-03-31T17:48:20+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2017-03-31T17:48:20+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/mollywingate\/#\/schema\/person\/1c9f9999c00c778b667ca2b8256e236f\"},\"description\":\"The writing workshop for military veterans introduced me to warriors who had become pacifists. I worried that my views and beliefs would not be welcome.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/mollywingate\/2017\/03\/warrior-turned-pacificist\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/mollywingate\/2017\/03\/warrior-turned-pacificist\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/mollywingate\/2017\/03\/warrior-turned-pacificist\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/mollywingate\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Warriors’ Writing Expresses Their Pacificism\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/mollywingate\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/mollywingate\/\",\"name\":\"Molly Wingate, Plain Speaking\",\"description\":\"A Quaker\u2019s perspective on spirituality, parenting, and living a faithful life\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/mollywingate\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/mollywingate\/#\/schema\/person\/1c9f9999c00c778b667ca2b8256e236f\",\"name\":\"Molly Wingate\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/mollywingate\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/4f31b6d90267783138bf2825684a0872?s=96&d=identicon&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/4f31b6d90267783138bf2825684a0872?s=96&d=identicon&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Molly Wingate\"},\"description\":\"Molly Wingate is an author, freelance writer, writing coach, and parenting expert. Molly is also a long time Quaker and currently is the rising clerk of the Inter Mountain Yearly Meeting. Molly taught high school and college students for 22 years and has several academic publications from her \u201cprevious life.\u201d In 2001, she started Wingate Consulting as a way to write and help writers while being home more for her two sons. In 2012, she published Slow Parenting Teens, which is co-written with Marti Woodward. Her articles about parenting have appeared in the Quaker journal Western Friend and on the website Contemplative Journal. The book is available through Barnes and Noble, Amazon, Norlights Press. You can find out more about Molly at www.wingate-consulting.com and at www.slowparentingteens.com.\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/mollywingate\/author\/mwingate\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Warriors' Writing Expresses Their Pacificism","description":"The writing workshop for military veterans introduced me to warriors who had become pacifists. I worried that my views and beliefs would not be welcome.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/mollywingate\/2017\/03\/warrior-turned-pacificist\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Warriors' Writing Expresses Their Pacificism","og_description":"The writing workshop for military veterans introduced me to warriors who had become pacifists. I worried that my views and beliefs would not be welcome.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/mollywingate\/2017\/03\/warrior-turned-pacificist\/","og_site_name":"Molly Wingate, Plain Speaking","article_published_time":"2017-03-31T17:48:20+00:00","og_image":[{"width":600,"height":450,"url":"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/746\/2017\/03\/WritingMeeting_Batali-e1490981780647.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Molly Wingate","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Molly Wingate","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/mollywingate\/2017\/03\/warrior-turned-pacificist\/","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/mollywingate\/2017\/03\/warrior-turned-pacificist\/","name":"Warriors' Writing Expresses Their Pacificism","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/mollywingate\/#website"},"datePublished":"2017-03-31T17:48:20+00:00","dateModified":"2017-03-31T17:48:20+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/mollywingate\/#\/schema\/person\/1c9f9999c00c778b667ca2b8256e236f"},"description":"The writing workshop for military veterans introduced me to warriors who had become pacifists. I worried that my views and beliefs would not be welcome.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/mollywingate\/2017\/03\/warrior-turned-pacificist\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/mollywingate\/2017\/03\/warrior-turned-pacificist\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/mollywingate\/2017\/03\/warrior-turned-pacificist\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/mollywingate\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Warriors’ Writing Expresses Their Pacificism"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/mollywingate\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/mollywingate\/","name":"Molly Wingate, Plain Speaking","description":"A Quaker\u2019s perspective on spirituality, parenting, and living a faithful life","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/mollywingate\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/mollywingate\/#\/schema\/person\/1c9f9999c00c778b667ca2b8256e236f","name":"Molly Wingate","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/mollywingate\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/4f31b6d90267783138bf2825684a0872?s=96&d=identicon&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/4f31b6d90267783138bf2825684a0872?s=96&d=identicon&r=g","caption":"Molly Wingate"},"description":"Molly Wingate is an author, freelance writer, writing coach, and parenting expert. Molly is also a long time Quaker and currently is the rising clerk of the Inter Mountain Yearly Meeting. Molly taught high school and college students for 22 years and has several academic publications from her \u201cprevious life.\u201d In 2001, she started Wingate Consulting as a way to write and help writers while being home more for her two sons. In 2012, she published Slow Parenting Teens, which is co-written with Marti Woodward. Her articles about parenting have appeared in the Quaker journal Western Friend and on the website Contemplative Journal. The book is available through Barnes and Noble, Amazon, Norlights Press. You can find out more about Molly at www.wingate-consulting.com and at www.slowparentingteens.com.","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/mollywingate\/author\/mwingate\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/mollywingate\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/283","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/mollywingate\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/mollywingate\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/mollywingate\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2683"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/mollywingate\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=283"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/mollywingate\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/283\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/mollywingate\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/287"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/mollywingate\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=283"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/mollywingate\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=283"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/mollywingate\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=283"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}