In what remains a timely piece today, Whitney Seymour '45 wrote a column on the morality of war in his booklet 'Carpe Diem.' The following is the entirety of his essay.
When most of us went off to war we were very young — 20 or 21 years old on average. We were full of self-confidence in our own physical prowess, and full of ignorance on why we were going out to kill other people, or be killed ourselves.
Our government leaders said it was to save freedom and democracy. We took them at their word. We had no choice. We read in the newspaper about Hitler and Mussolini and Hirohito. We heard on the radio about Blitzkrieg[en] and quislings and collaborateurs. But we never really understood why we should be killing other people. It was just the patriotic thing to do. Everybody else was going in. We were young and we simply had to go, too.
Now, looking back 50 years later, we have a glimmer of understanding of what it was all about. We were fighting against hatred, injustice and brutality — against barbarians whose principal strategy was herding up the weak and helpless and killing them at random. We were fighting against raw, vicious inhumanity.
In Sparta, the ancient city of Greece that symbolizes military prowess, the German occupation troops were harassed by resistance fighters who wanted them to leave. One day a German soldier was ambushed and killed. The German commander retaliated with brute force.
He rounded up every civilizing element in the community — teachers, doctors, lawyers, judges, government officials — took them to the edge of town, and shot them. Unarmed civilians. Massacred everyone. When you visit Sparta today, 50 years later, it is a ghost city. There are people there, but no life or spirit. Everything seems to be in mourning. The heart and mind of a great city was destroyed by brutality and hate by a barbarian invader.
The same experience was repeated many times over throughout occupied countries. Village after village in the French countryside still have their monuments outside of town where German soldiers lined up unarmed civilians and killed them in cold blood.
The unbelievable horror of the mass extermination of Jews in concentration camps was not the secret occupation of a few sadists, unknown to the wider population who supported and encouraged the third Reich. The same brutality and hatred was practiced by young German soldiers wherever they were stationed. Heartless killing of innocent people was a way of life. A mindset of an entire nation.
Did it simply disappear when the war ended? Of course not. The same potential continues on and on in the attitudes of people everywhere — right here in our own country — who encourage or tolerate hatred of other people and brutal killing as an acceptable activity. This is not a question of nationality, but a question of teaching and tradition. People brought up to hate rather than to respect the rights of others have the potential to accept brutality, injustice and killing as legitimate activities.
The magic of America is our respect for individual worth. The concepts of equal rights and equal opportunity. The principles of free speech and due process which institutionalize tolerance for others.
Albert Schweitzer expounded the ethical and moral principle of "respect for life." The forces we oppose in World War II took the opposite approach of total disrespect for human life. They were true barbarians. Whether Germans, Italians or Japanese, they repudiated every principle of civilized conduct.
There are still people who will follow their example today, in many parts of the world, and so the potential for future wars has not disappeared. The important thing is to decide what is worth fighting for. What is worth risking the lives of future college students — Princeton students and all the rest around the world who are the keepers of our moral values and a lamp of civilization.
The lesson is quite clear: Oppose and fight hatred, injustice and brutality wherever it appears. Never temporize with the basic values of civilization. Other types of war should be opposed. "Holy wars" against religious beliefs are anathema. Political wars to preserve unpopular governments or traditional boundaries are insane. Interference with internal revolutions must be avoided — except to stop the slaughter of innocents. War is the scourge of civilization. But early military intervention is often a necessary action to prevent widespread barbarism of the kind we fought in World War II.
Our twenty-three classmates who died in military service 50 years ago — so full of promise for bright futures — were a necessary price to preserve our values of equal human rights and justice and respect for others.
We salute and honor them with pride. Their deaths were not wasted if we have learned the lesson that we must always oppose hatred, injustice and brutality whenever it appears.
Educated people, in particular, understand the importance of these values, and they must constantly walk the ramparts to guard them.
Read More
Five percent of Class of 2029 identify as Black or African-American, lowest since 1968
Sena ChangIn the Class of 2029, 5 percent of students identified as Black or African American — the lowest share in many years, compared to the roughly seven to nine percent range in the past two decades.
In the Class of 2029, 5 percent of students identified as Black or African American — the lowest share in many years, compared to the roughly seven to nine percent range in the past two decades.
‘Fast and powerful in the water, steady and sure on land’: Friends and family remember Kerry Grundlingh ’27
Hayk YengibaryanKerry Grundlingh ’27 was 21 when she died on July 26 following a cycling accident in her hometown of Johannesburg, South Africa.
Kerry Grundlingh ’27 was 21 when she died on July 26 following a cycling accident in her hometown of Johannesburg, South Africa.
Princeton Town Council discusses graffiti at Jewish Center and affordable housing
Leela HenslerTown Council addresses recent reports of antisemitic graffiti in public spaces, discusses an ordinance to expand affordable housing, and proposals from local youth to lower the voting age for school board elections.
Town Council addresses recent reports of antisemitic graffiti in public spaces, discusses an ordinance to expand affordable housing, and proposals from local youth to lower the voting age for school board elections.