of that particular book? It is about free will and brainwashing. The point of the Ludoviko technique is that it is forced. Is Alex actually "good" if he doesn't make the choice to be good? By the by, whether you are aware of it or not, by the end of the book you have a working knowledge of about 150 Russian words (again, Burgess' not so subtle explanation by example of how brainwashing works...) Not to be too obtuse, but if you feel like Alex, then are you saying that your pacifism is "forced"? Or are you merely saying that you have been brainwashed?

Between that book/movie, Slaughterhouse Five, and The World According to Garp - we've pretty much covered my psyche as well. (Gotta throw in strong doses of Michener and Crichton for entertainment value....) You are absolutely correct that there will be a time for pacifism and reflection, there must. Unfortunately, this will have to wait. No matter what you (or I) make of the Christian bible, there is a bit of wisdom there that is worth the read, even if the goal is not to become Christian.

I guess that to the books I've listed up top, I might have to add Ecclesiastes 3:1 from the Old Testament.

"
There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven:
a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot,
a time to kill and a time to heal, a time to tear down and a time to build,
a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance,
a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them, a time to embrace and a time to refrain,
a time to search and a time to give up, a time to keep and a time to throw away,
a time to tear and a time to mend, a time to be silent and a time to speak,
a time to love and a time to hate, a time for war and a time for peace."

As sick as this may sound, I'm slightly comforted by the idea that there is a time for war... and a time for peace. We're just gonna have to get through the time for war.