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I am making this statement as an act of wilful defiance of military authority, because I believe the war is being deliberately prolonged by those who have the power to end it.
I am a soldier, convinced that I am acting on behalf of soldiers. I believe that this war, upon which I entered as a war of defence and liberation has now become a war of aggression and conquest. I believe that the purposes for which I and my fellow soldiers entered upon this war should have been so clearly stated as to have made it impossible to change them, and that, had this been done, the objects witch actuated us would now be attainable by negotiation.
I have seen and endured the suffering of the troops, and I can no longer be a party to prolong these sufferings for ends which I believe to be evil and unjust. I am not protesting against the conduct of the war, but against the political errors and insincerity's for which the fighting men are being sacrificed.
On behalf of those who are suffering now I make this protest against the deception which is being practised on them; also I believe that I may help to destroy the callous complacence with which the majority of those at home regard the continuance of agonies which they do not share, and which they have not sufficient imagination to realise.
Second Lieutenant S. Sassoon
31 July 1917
A letter written during the first World War it may be, but it is a letter that has a growing significance in the times we live in... *sigh* You know something sucky is going on when even cartoon strips start taking a stand... for more information, check out the series about Rob's cousin in Get Fuzzy.
"It's as if all other wars had somehow distilled themselves into this war, and that makes it something you almost can't challenge. It's like a very deep voice saying, 'Run along, little man. Be thankful if you survive." ~Wilfred Owen
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