Veterans' Day 2007 was the 89th anniversary of the end of one of the greatest tragedies in human history--World War I. My grandfather volunteered for the War, and was wounded in the decisive Battle of the Argonne Forest in 1918. He was awarded the Purple Heart and the French Croix de Guerre.

A couple years ago feminist Helen Caldicott, co-founder of Physicians for Social Responsibility, made a speech called "Men: Natural Born Killers." Caldicott told feminist antiwar demonstrators that the male of the human species has unbridled bloodlust, explaining that "young men rushed off to battle in the first World War. So eager were they to participate in the noble act of killing that they lied about their age."

Actually, my grandfather lied about his age so he could join the army, wanting to show his gratitude to the country which had allowed him to escape foreign tyranny. Caldicott is certainly correct that the war was a senseless slaughter, and the Russian revolutionary Lenin was correct that it was an imperialist war. But unlike Caldicott, I believe that men go to war out of a sense of duty and obligation, not bloodlust, as Caldicott maintains. I criticized Caldicott in my column Dr. Helen Caldicott Spits on My Grandfather (Cybercast News Service, 3/28/03). I wrote:

"According to Caldicott, societies dominated by 'male values' approve of violence and killing, and she criticizes women for being 'absolute wimps' who 'condone [male] psychotic behavior by their silence.' She ignores the fact that, rightly or wrongly, American women support this country's wars as much or nearly as much as men do. According to a Washington Post/ABC poll conducted on Sunday, March 23, 78 percent of men and 66 percent of women support the current war. When the United States went to war against Iraq in 1991, 87 percent of men and 78 percent of women approved.

"Caldicott also ignores the fact that women have always played a crucial role in ensuring that men serve in wars. As men's issues author Warren Farrell notes, during the Civil War Southern women 'hissed and groaned' at male civilians. According to historian Ken Burns, few Southern men tried to hire substitutes to fight for them because the Southern women 'wouldn't permit it.' During World War I women in the capitals of the warring cities of Europe would hand civilian men flowers to show that they viewed them as cowards for not enlisting.

"An excellent illustration of women's power to shame men into fighting can be seen in the Australian movie Gallipoli. The movie is the story of how two young men from the Australian outback come to enlist in the army and fight in one of history's bloodiest battles, the Battle of Gallipoli.

"Of the two main characters, one is determined to enlist, believing it is his patriotic duty. The other, played by Mel Gibson, has no desire to fight and says the war is 'an English war' which has nothing to do with Australia or its interests.

"However, while at a small dinner party where both Gibson and his friend interact with an attractive young woman, Gibson is shamed for his lack of martial spirit. Shortly afterwards, he tells his friend that he does not want to be treated like this the rest of his life and enlists.

"Similarly, several years ago an Israeli political analyst pointed to this phenomenon to support his assertion that support for militarism and hard-line policies had declined precipitously in Israel. His evidence? For the first time in his country's history a draft dodger could get a girlfriend, he explained."

This entry was posted on Sunday, November 11th, 2007 at 1:02 am and is filed under Feminism/NOW, My Kids, My Family. You can trackback from your own site.