"The General"

Upon going about any daily routine, I very often have music playing. I recently stumbled upon an older song that I really like called The General, by Dispatch. It's a catchy, upbeat song that always seems to put me in a better mood, but for the first time I thoroughly looked into the lyrics of the song and it immediately reminded me of a Nonviolence discussion. The song is about a military general who had a dream and suddenly a realization, about people and life itself. He immediately tells his troops that, in a dream, he "has seen the others", and goes on to say that "this fight is not worth fighting". The general then tells his troops that they have no time to lose, and that they "are young and must be living". The lyrics of this song truly got me thinking about the military system in today's world, and whether or not there are any military leaders that truly feel that no war or violence is worth the lives of the people willing to lay them down. This song also put me in mind of William James and his strive for "masculinity" and thoughts of war. This figure that James portrays seems to provide a type of role model or hero. I wonder if "the general" in this song is more or what James had in mind. It is a disciplined, trained human being, that is standing up for a nonviolent way of life, as well as instructing others to do the same.