Politechnical >> Peace Movements- War in Reverse?

Politechnical has an interesting post on the difference between pacifists and anti-war activists.  He makes a very good point that true pacifists are against all war, with no equivocations.  Meanwhile anti-war activists have an agenda and proclaiming their anti-war position is only a means to bolster or further that agenda.  Here's the money quote:

The acid test is this: a true pacifist, or true anti-war believer is against all war acts, not just those of one side or another.  Rather than a ‘yes, the terrorists are bad, BUT,”, there’s a ‘yes, the terrorists are bad, AND I don’t agree with …’  True pacifists rely on their religious faith or deep philosophical conviction for their beliefs and decisions.  There’s no equivocating- true pacifists act and speak as the genuine article, because they are.

The argument works the other way too, in the current Middle East dustup: "yes Israel is bad, BUT the palestinians..." versus "yes Israel is bad, AND Hamas..."  This is why I respect the Vatican's position on all the conflagrations in the world.  What usually gets buried in the wire reports is their admonition of the violence on the part of the instigator, but they have always been consistent on their views.  I can't agree with their condemnation of Israel's actions against Hezbollah, but I respect it.

Read the whole post.  Alan relates a story on the most highly decorated conscientious objector.

(h/t to The World According to Nick and The Jawa Report)