Am I a Veterans Day curmudgeon for wondering why a blanket “thanks!” is in order? Am I to be sweepingly thankful for all the grinding violence and death which has been done, what, in my name and for my sake? What if I regard violence as an absolute last and desperate and tragic resort, and for deeply held moral reasons I would never dream of partaking in the vast, vast majority of the widespread death and destruction (usually involving countless innocents!) which supposedly is carried out for my benefit? If I were Russian, or Iranian, or …, would I still owe a universal, sweeping debt of gratitude to the agents of violence of that state apparatus which claims a hollow jurisdiction over me and my neighbors?