War (a creative essay)

War

by Sheri Grutz

When the editors in the papers said this is written by an odd mind in response to Virginia Woolf's, Three Guineas, she was great offended, or saddened. It could be said that the mind of writer is like a trusted tool, and at that time, nobody would ever admit to being weird, the way so many do today. Consider this quote

“Literature is strewn with the wreckage of men who have minded beyond reason the opinion of others.” -Virginia Woolf

That there would be controversy to the book, was a given right from the start since women were in the balconies when men were deciding war. An important thinker of her time, she made clear that she has been kept out, when in fact, she did want to be kept in.

Peaceableness toward enemies is an idea that will, of course, continue to be denounced as impractical. It has been too little tried by individuals, much less by nations. It will not readily or easily serve those who are greedy for power. It cannot be effectively used for bad ends. It could not be used as the basis of an empire. It does not afford opportunities for profit. It involves danger to practitioners. It requires sacrifice. And yet it seems to me that it is practical, for it offers the only escape from the logic of retribution. It is the only way by which we can cease to look to war for peace. ... Peaceableness is not passive. It is the ability to act to resolve conflict without violence. If it is not a practical andpracticable method, it is nothing. As a practicable method, it reduces helplessness in the face of conflict. In the face of conflict, the peaceable person may find several solutions, the violent person only one. -Wendell Berry

Virginia Woolf couldn't imagine winning as many awards as Wendell Berry has received over his esteemed career, in fact, the people depicting her and her life are winning the awards. She didn't hate men, but thought women were a looking glass for men, and she maintained many friends through mental struggle. How can Berry be credited for didactic poetry, and Woolf be scorned for supposedly preaching to men?

If we had her here today, and asked that same question: How do we prevent war? You can still see her point all over again, that most are manmade oppression of people, even at times today in a woman's life, when you can't even find the enemy, she spoke out without fighting.