War to end all war

Sixty five million men were veterans in what was once called, in this country, the european war. Millions did not survive that war. In the wars since, civilians are the primary casualties. To-day, you do not need all the fingers of a hand to count the surviving veterans of the war that ended on St. Martin's Day 1918. Martin was born into a military family, and bore the name of a false god, the god of war. He became a christian and would not fight. He became a patron of France. France was the western front, in that war, and their were several others. France alone, had a million and four hundred thousand dead combatants in that spectacle.

President Woodrow Wilson called it the war to end all wars, he was wrong. To-day, President Obama allows this country to participate in at least two wars. One in Irak and one in Afghanistan. If one were to read T.E. Lawrence and Rudyard Kipling, one would know the folly. The last one to be successful in those two theatres was the macedonian, Alexander. The british english, who, defeated the french in america and india, were enfeebled in Afghanistan. The soviet russians, who, defeated the nazi germans, were enfeebled in Afghanistan.

There are yeomen historians, who write serviceable and accurate narratives. Not enough people read and comprehend.

Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.—George Santayana

November 11 was first Saint Martin's Day, Martin of Tours. I quote from Butler's Lives of the Saints, Martin addressing the apostate emperor Julian:

'Hitherto', he said to Julian, 'I have served you as a soldier; let me now serve Christ. Give the bounty to these others who are going to fight, but I am a soldier of Christ and it is not lawful for me to fight.' Julian stormed and accused Martin of cowardice, who retorted that he was prepared to stand in the battle-line unarmed the next day and to advance alone against the enemy in the name of Christ. He was thrust into prison, but the conclusion of an armistice stopped further developments and Martin was soon after discharged. He went to Poitiers, where St Hilary was bishop, and this doctor of the Church gladly received the young 'conscientious objector' among his disciples.

—may people worship Jesus and not Mars