A Pacifist’s Gratitude for the Military

by Kassandra Lamb ~ I’m rerunning one of my favorite Memorial Day posts, expressing gratitude for the military, even though I am a pacifist (in most cases). It seemed appropriate, considering world events lately.

(Note: the following are the opinions of this author and do not necessarily reflect those of the other misterio press authors.)

I’m a pacifist by nature.

I abhor violence. I know that sounds weird coming from a murder mystery writer, but fiction and reality are two different things.

Indeed, the appeal of mysteries, I believe, is the reader is reassured by these fictional stories that justice is served and evil is conquered in the end.

Because, unfortunately, evil is real.

There are some truly evil people in the world, and even more people who are willing to do evil things in order to achieve their goals. So violence is part of the human condition and probably will be for the foreseeable future.

One of the many things I learned from being a psychotherapist is that evil survives and thrives on fear and passivity. So I do believe that it has to be stopped. And the only force evil understands is just that, force.

So how am I any different from those I accuse of using evil to achieve their own goals? I guess I’m not completely different. My only defense is that I believe in the use of violence only in defense of self and others.

In the real world, we need a strong military.

It does act as a deterrent against a good bit of that evil. And the rest of the time, unfortunately, those men and women in uniform have to fight back the evil.

But I was appalled by the treatment of the returning GIs at the hands of some of my fellow pacifists. These men and women who had served out country at great sacrifice (many of them drafted), were not always welcomed home as the heroes they were.

I was a teen and college student during the Vietnam War–probably the least popular war ever fought by this country. I protested against that war.

Humans have short memories and we don’t always learn from the past. But I think our society learned that lesson.

By all means, hate war! But honor the troops who have sacrificed so much to protect our peace.

Any particular members of the military you’re remembering today?

Plus I have yet another Kate Huntington Mysteries Collection coming out. This last one includes Book 1 in my new spinoff series with Judith Anderson.

The Kate Huntington Mysteries Collection IV, Books 9-10 (Plus Book 1 in the C.o.P. on the Scene series)

Psychotherapist Kate Huntington struggles with burnout, among other things, while police Lieutenant Judith Anderson wonders why she’s behind a desk, instead of on the street.

Anxiety Attack ~ An operative working for Kate’s P.I. husband is shot during an undercover assignment involving industrial espionage, and the alleged shooter is one of her psychotherapy clients—a man suffering from severe social anxiety. Kate believes he’s innocent and tensions build at home…until a suspicious suicide brings the case to a head. Is the spy tying up loose ends, and is Kate’s husband one of them?

Police Protection ~ A story ripped from real-life headlines! A groggy police detective is found standing over the body of an unarmed African-American boy, with no memory of what happened. Investigating behind the scenes, Kate Huntington and her P.I. husband determine that this was far more than just a bad shoot by a stressed-out cop. Are other innocent lives are at risk?

Lethal Assumptions ~ Eight days into her new job as Chief of Police in a small Florida city, Judith Anderson finds herself one step behind a serial killer. In a race to save lives, she’ll need every talent and instinct that made her a star homicide detective in Baltimore. But will that be enough this time?

PREORDER NOW ~ Releases on June 6, 2022

AMAZON ~ APPLE ~ NOOK ~ KOBO ~ GOOGLE PLAY

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Posted by Kassandra Lamb. Kassandra is a retired psychotherapist turned mystery writer. She is the author of the Kate Huntington psychological mysteries, set in her native Maryland, and the Marcia Banks and Buddy cozy mysteries, set in Central Florida. Plus she has started a new police procedural series, also set in Florida—The C.o.P. on the Scene mysteries. And she writes romantic suspense under the pen name of Jessica Dale.

Misterio press produces an array of quality crime fiction. We post here twice a month, usually on Tuesdays, to alert you to new releases, to entertain, and to inform.

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