Thomas Merton: Adolf Eichmann, Sanity And Normality
Compendium Of Best Pax Posts On Organized Religion And The Everyday Validation Of Violence
Why We Love Violence And Pump It Even Though It Rarely Works And Is Typically Counterproductive
http://paxonbothhouses.blogspo
"Do Wars Really Defend America's Freedom?"
(Homage To Marine Commandant, Major General Smedley Butler)
http://paxonbothhouses.blogspo
(Homage To Marine Commandant, Major General Smedley Butler)
http://paxonbothhouses.blogspo
"Why We Fight," Excellent Documentary With Ike's "Military-Industrial Complex" As Springboard
Scare The Sheep
And They Will Applaud Military-Industrial Profiteering
"Why We Fight," Excellent Documentary With Ike's "Military-Industrial Complex" As Springboard
Scare The Sheep
And They Will Applaud Military-Industrial Profiteering
American "Patriotism": Why So Many Americans Are Fundamentally Violent And Paranoid
Republican Lawmaker From Nevada Sends Christmas Card Featuring Fully Armed Family
The Age-Old Normalization Of Warfare Through Stupidity, Ego And Religion
The Mistaken Concept That Reducing Cultures To Rubble Results In Peace
Punishment Rarely Reforms But Instead Tends To Reinforce Wrongdoing
Christians And "Christians" Choose Mercy, Love And Forgiveness, Or Retribution And Punishment
By PATRICK O'NEILL
My neighbor, Jane, sent out a nice 4th of July greeting in an E-mail to the folks who live on our street. "Greetings Neighbors, " she wrote (emphasis hers). "Thinking about and feeling... GRATEFUL for our MILITARY HEROES. BLESSED AND NOSTALGIC about this 4th HOLIDAY. PROUD of our ‘GRAND OLD FLAG.' THANKFUL for our 'SWEET LAND OF LIBERTY.' GOD BLESS THE U.S.A. ! HAPPY FOURTH OF JULY !"
Jane's husband, Bill, is a retired U.S. Marine veteran. They often fly the flags of the branches of the armed forces on a clothesline in their yard on other patriotic days like Veterans Day and Memorial Day.
Jane knows I am an anti-war activist. I stopped by her house recently to show her my federal probation ankle monitor and let her know I would likely be going to federal prison as a result of my recent protest against the Trident submarine, a component of the U.S. nuclear arsenal, and arguably the most insidious weapons system ever built.
I really like Jane and Bill, and I think they like me. I like the fact that we like each other, even though we have diametrically opposed views of our nation and it's military. In truth, our families have far more in common than the few areas where we disagree.
I understand Jane's enthusiasm for "Independence Day," because since her husband risked his life on the battlefield, and his sacrifice could have left her a widow, she and Bill have a lot invested in the nation state.
Also important is the fact that the majority of our service members -- especially those placed in harm's way -- are working class people who often join the military for economic reasons. It is telling that few of our citizen soldiers are from wealthy families; and even fewer of our service members are the children of politicians.
As a father of eight children, none of whom have an inclination to pursue a military career, I harbor great suspicions of the motivations of leaders of a nation state in which almost no politicians have children fighting in the trenches of the wars they promote and fund. (Could it be they know something we don't know?)
My opposition to militarism
But, even if I believed a military was necessary to make our lives safer or more free, I could never support the madness that is modern warfare, where weapons of mass destruction wait on hair-trigger alert to destroy entire cities, and quiet drones secretly drop bombs from the sky -- always on the "bad guys."
Our world is always just seconds away from nuclear annihilation, a legacy I am ashamed to leave for my children and two grandchildren on the way. I shudder to think what the future will be like for the generations of humans to come.
I suspect the main difference between my world view and Jane and Bill's world view comes down to a simple distinction: Jane and Bill trust the U.S. Government, and I think that almost every time a politician opens his or her mouth they are lying. If those politicians, state department folks and other federal bureaucrats believed so strongly in U.S. militarism then their kids would be in uniform, risking life and limb for the "good cause(s)."
Just like my government, I also think the governments of our so-called enemies tell lies to their citizens as well. Ironically, almost all warfare is carried out by people who believe they are doing God's will. And, no one wants to contemplate the alternative.
Therein lies the dilemma for patriots. They are actually trusting their lives and the lives of their children to a government I don't believe can be trusted to do the right thing. In the case of Jane and Bill, they have already done that, and their patriotic fervor is an extension of their selfless sacrifice. They are noble people who have made extraordinary sacrifices for the things they believe to be true. I admire them for living their lives with purpose, even if their path is not my path.
I know the majority of my fellow Americans -- and most human beings for that matter -- believe war is a necessary evil in a dangerous world. I, however, see war as the root cause of evil in our world.
Life is short. It is full off beauty, awe and wonder. I have no desire to spend any of my time engaged in the killing of my fellow human beings or in the desecration of God's creation. I want to experience God's love, celebrate the joys, hopes and dreams of my children, hug my wife and not waste a minute of my precious life causing harm to another human being. As Catholic Worker movement founder Dorothy Day said: "The only solution is love."
I want to spend my time consumed with a Love so encompassing that I have no time left for hate. As Prof. Morrie Schwartz (“Tuesdays with Morrie) said: "Love is the only rational act." Amen.
No comments:
Post a Comment