Monthly Archives: May 2019
Podcast Episode 4!
John Carmody served as a 2nd Lieutenant Platoon Commander in Vietnam from 1967-68, in an area called Leatherneck Square, nestled near the DMZ. He talks about the “unbridled brutality of war” and explains why it is “a sick process.” He also talks to us about his work with PeaceTrees Vietnam, his thoughts on PTSD and Just War Theory, and how he came to be the Founder and Director of the Center for Christian Nonviolence.
Rank: Captain
Decorations/Medals (awarded):
- Silver Star (The only medals that are more prestigious than the Silver Star are the Medal of Honor and the Navy Cross. Read his commendation below.)
- Purple Heart w/2*
- Combat Action Ribbon
- Presidential Unit Citation
- Meritorious Unit Commendation
- National Defense Service Medal
- Viet Nam Serice Medal
- Viet Nam Campaign Medal
Ben Salmon: Educational Video
Fr. Bernard Survil Interview
“A Hidden Life”
The Liberal Embrace of War
“Since 2016, it’s been stunning to watch the purging and/or conversion of what used to be antiwar voices, to the point where Orwellian flip-flops are now routine.”
Domestic Consequences of Militarism
We have a podcast!
You can find us on the top menu, on our podcast website, and on YouTube. Please subscribe to our channel. We hope to conduct more interviews with Catholics who have stood and are standing against militarism.
Our first podcast is an interview with Fr. Emmanuel Charles McCarthy. He speaks to us about his books recently made available in the second edition on Amazon: “All Things Flee Thee for Thou Fleest Me” and “Just War Theory: The Logic of Deceit”.
Additional topics include: Tradition vs. tradition in the Catholic Church; orthodox vs. heterodox beliefs; authority; conscience; and what a person who has the leisure to study owes to the rest of humanity.
For more information about the author, go to: www.emmanuelcharlesmccarthy.org www.centerforchristiannonviolence.org
The books can be found on Amazon at: https://www.amazon.com/s?i=stripbooks…
You can listen to the lecture series “Behold the Lamb” for free at: https://www.centerforchristiannonviol…
Find us at: www.catholicsagainstmilitarism.com
Peter Jackson’s Masterpiece is Here.
But we’re not talking about the Lord of the Rings! They Shall Not Grow Old is a magnificent, haunting film by Mr. Jackson. Highly recommended for history buffs, movie lovers, audio/video tech enthusiasts, progressives, libertarians, liberals, conservatives, especially Catholic conservatives. In fact, just about everybody should see this movie. It’s rated R (for scenes of war violence and gore) but parents should give serious consideration to watching it with their older children. Part of being a mature adult is to have some grasp of the realities of war portrayed here. This documentary is a powerful antidote to the usual cinematic and cultural glorification of violence that Americans are exposed to everyday.
WW1 has been called “the greatest cataclysm in human history,” leading inexorably to the destruction of Christian civilization. It’s important to know something about it because when we survey the societal wreckage around us, it’s a good starting point for those who want to think about “where things went wrong.” This film is a wonderful technical and humanitarian achievement, but it is limited in that it is strictly about the British experience, it has no discernible political viewpoint and, somewhat strangely, contains practically no references to spiritual values among the millions-strong army of Christians. It’s now out on DVD, but seeing it on the big screen with a large audience is highly recommended, so if you get a chance to do that, jump at it.
Here are excerpts from three thoughtful and provocative reviews/commentaries by Catholic writers.
From “The Veneer of Civilization Slipped Away” by Jeffrey A. Tucker:
“The narrative is genius storytelling, somehow taking this ghastly, complex, ignored series of events with strange beginnings and turning it into a deeply engaging human drama about the mystically evil event we call war which baptizes mass murder and death in the cleansing waters of patriotic fervor.”
From “‘They Shall Not Grow Old’ is a Powerful, Beautiful Picture of the Ugliness of War” by John Zmirak:
“Instead of gray ghosts, the soldiers shine forth luminously as men like you and me. The decades melt away, and we can see ourselves in these men in the trenches…
These British men give us a glimpse of the Christian civilization which existed before the Great War, which that savage strife did so much to hollow out and destroy.”
From “CHRIST or DEATH: The Choice of 1914” by Hilary White:
“The result of this rejection of Christ the King has been a descent into chaos that can now only be answered by the rise of the all-powerful State, backed up by the death-machines.”
Don’t miss this movie and please tell others about it.