Animals, war and ecstatic greetings.....

You may have seen this video. Gracie, a dog that was rescued from a shelter, is shown greeting her rescuer upon his return from a tour in Afghanistan.

I was conflicted about posting the video, although the joy shining all through Gracie is a sight to behold. My conflict had more to do with anything associated with war.

Gracie's rescuer (and recipient of her joy) appears to be an honorable human animal.....the video was quite popular on youtube and he donate all money made off of ads to the shelter from which he rescued Gracie. Good for him.

If you are not acquainted with General Smedley Butler (great first name, eh?), then you should be.  From his wikipedia entry:

By the end of his career he had received 16 medals, five of which were for heroism. He is one of 19 people to twice receive the Medal of Honor, one of three to be awarded both the Marine Corps Brevet Medal and the Medal of Honor, and the only person to be awarded the Brevet Medal and two Medals of Honor, all for separate actions.

General Butler, in his book, War is a Racket, said:

War is a racket. It always has been. It is possibly the oldest, easily the most profitable, surely the most vicious. It is the only one international in scope.... [and] the profits are reckoned in dollars and the losses in lives. 

A racket is best described as something that is not what it seems to the majority of the people. Only a small ‘inside’ group knows what it is about. It is conducted for the benefit of the very few, at the expense of the very many. Out of war a few people make huge fortunes.

After his retirement from the military he spent his time opposing war and militarism and the corporations and individuals that advocated and profited from such destruction.

War is destructive, for animals and for the planet.  WW I resulted in the death of 8 million horses and an uncounted number of donkeys and mules. The number of the dead belonging to other kinds of animal people is unknown. Every other war has brought about the death of uncounted numbers of animal people that are too smart to engage in wars.....but that hasn't prevented them from being forced into being killed in wars.....wars that are the exclusive creation of human animals.

Engaging in self defense is one thing. Most wars have nothing to do with self defense, they have to do with greed and stupidity and viciousness. Thank you Smedley Butler for being an honest human animal.

And thank you Gracie, for being the dog animal person you are.