A Pacifist’s Thoughts During War

by monty keeling
CStation Stationmaster
3/25/2002

 

Here we are on day six of the next gulf war. Sandstorms are ripping across the battlefields and I have to wonder if this isn’t God’s way of encouraging everybody to rethink the whole mess of war. Then I read where fighting is continuing and the Iraqi arm is launching a counteroffensive to make use of the storm. Guess nobody’s listening.

 

The Washington Post reports that seven out of ten Americans support the war and that’s an incredible percentage. Being somewhat of a history buff I can’t recall another war where the American people gave their government such support at the get go. It took Pearl Harbor to get that many Americans on board for World War II. I have to question my own pacifist beliefs some times. How can so many Christians be wrong  in their support of war?

 

Then I remember back to my high school days when all my friends were smoking marijuana so I decided they all couldn’t be wrong and maybe I should try it. Fortunately for me I went home and told my pacifist preacher father what I was thinking. His response was: “Ok, go right ahead if you feel that’s what you have to do. Only don’t ever come home afterwards because you will be no son of mine.” Very poor counseling technique I know. But it worked I 

put aside any idea of taking drugs.

 

And, as it happens, I came across a 700 Club broadcast while watching my daughter’s TV (I’m to cheap to have cable) and witnessed Pat Robertson serving as sage to questions offered by viewers. One question asked if Jesus was really a pacifist. Pat responded that while Jesus preached love he would have no trouble with a war like America is fighting. And Pat went on to say that he knew this because of some things the Apostle Paul had written. I always wonder why people quote Paul to explain Jesus instead of letting Jesus speak for himself. Anyway, something told me I would be walking closer to God by keeping my Church of the Brethren beliefs than I would be with the 700 Club.

 

But I still have to admit to a sense of admiration for the young men and women who are willing to risk their lives for our country. While still believing that the system that sends parents away from families to kill other people must make Jesus weep continually. My Indiana Republican raised son-in-law (who supports the war) says that one of the things that bothers him is that all the folks in peace demonstrations aren’t offering any other solutions. “If these people had worked so hard before the war to find another way, maybe there wouldn’t have been a war.” And he’s right. Until we peace folks are willing to risk as much to prevent war as are those who fight them, all our sign carrying won’t amount to much.

 

And while I believe its right to oppose this war, I personally think we peace folks must not be drawn into the camp of those who would paint America just as bad as Saddam Hussein. The man is pure evil and I encourage all of us to pray for his downfall without further loss of life. As usual the Arab press has lined up solidly behind an anti-American campaign. As usual without dealing with the fact that Arab states, in spite of great oil wealth, have not taken responsibility for the well being of their people, or, as their own religion demands, the well being of other Arabs. As I read their news links I see a very immature way of thinking that seeks to blame the United States for their problems, demonize our leadership, without looking at their situation in any way near the standards of our media.

 

This doesn’t, of course, excuse the United States for the situation we have placed ourselves in with this war. But we must be careful to pray for events unfolding around Iraq, and try to see the evil and the good of all the parties involved.

 

It’s important that those of us who oppose this war continue to speak out against the methods our country has chosen for dealing with the Iraq situation. America, as a “good” empire still dies a little each time we resort to military means of solving our problems. The very future of our country may depend on finding “another way” to deal with our international problems.