November 14: Had to be Done, Newborn Adolf Hitler, Shitty Decisions

"It had to be done," Rumfoord told Billy, speaking of the destruction of Dresden.

"I know," said Billy.

"That's war."

"I know.  I'm not complaining."

"It must have been hell on the ground."

"It was," said Billy Pilgrim.

"Pity the men who had to do it."

"I do."

"You must have had mixed feelings, there on the ground."

"It was all right," said Billy.  "Everything is all right, and everybody has to do exactly what he does.  I learned that on Tralfamdore."  

Rumfoord is attempting to justify the bombing of Dresden to Billy, not quite apologizing but acknowledging Billy's experience of the event with some degree of compassion.  Billy harbors no anger or ill feelings toward any person involved in the bombings, in the air or on the ground.  He knows that the Dresden bombing happened, is happening, will happen, no matter what he says or does or how he feels.

It's a pretty good attitude to cultivate, if you can do it, this Tralfamadorian point of view.  It's all about total acceptance, good or bad, of whatever happens in life.  If more people were like Billy, there might be a lot more peace in the world.  On the other hand, total acceptance also allows a lot of terrible stuff to happen, as well.

For example, if I could somehow travel back in time to April 20, 1889, Braunau am Inn, Austria, I would probably take the newborn Adolf Hitler and throw him off the nearest cliff.  Now, whether that would make a difference or not, I'm not so sure.  Perhaps another Hitler would emerge to fill the void.  Perhaps the Holocaust would still occur.  But at least I could say that I did something to try and prevent the death of millions of people.

I'm not sure that Tralfmadorian  acceptance is the healthiest approach to the world.  It sort of smacks of Pontius Pilate washing his hands of the death of Jesus Christ--I'm not guilty because I just stood back and watched it happen.  That would sort of be like me seeing a woman being raped on a street corner and simply ignoring the situation, going to Starbucks and buying a pumpkin spice latte.  I would still be guilty of allowing a terrible act of violence to occur, and I would probably get arrested.

So, Billy Pilgrim does nothing to try to change the course of history, even though he knows the past, present, and future.  I'm sitting here, at the end of 2017, almost a full year after the 2016 U. S. Presidential election.  Last week, I walked into the voting booth again and cast my ballot, hoping that it would make some difference, somehow.

That is the great experiment that is the United States of American.  Making shitty decisions as a nation and then trying to correct those shitty decisions. 

Saint Marty is thankful this afternoon for the possibility of changing the future.