War

I am torn. I intended this site for other posts, but now am tempted to post about politics. Forgive me. I am against Kerry's stand on civil rights and for Bush's position on abortion, civil rights, and the war. (This is just musing, not an attempt to sway votes, so disagree all you want). As a person who has been personally touched by war, one would think that I be against it, but I am not.

In 1941, Adolf Hitler invaded Europe and began a reign of oppression where he destroyed and killed without provocation. On April 25th, 1945 my grandfather entered through the gates of "hell", the first official concentration camp. It was called Dachau and he took down the German flag as the camp was liberated. He came back, while few of his friends ever did, and tried to live a life without the memories that always haunted him. My grandfather hardly ever spoke about it all until he was on his death-bed. France, incidently, still owes him a medal (the U.S. awarded him two). World War II, in his mind, was about liberation from a murderous dictator.

In 1990, Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait without provocation. This time is was not my grandfather going on a mission of liberation, but my father. I was ten and I wondered every night if my dad would die. I cried myself to sleep 425 days in a row. I do not think others understand the value that should be placed upon the military, our troops, and the actions they execute: not simply for our freedom but for the freedom of other oppressed poeple.

I know that America cannot liberate everybody everywhere, nor can we, realistically, go to war with every dictator. But I believe fully, that Sadamm's past actions in Kuwait are an excellent indication of what his future actions would've been had we let him continue. Dictators are frightenly similiar in character. Have we forgotten already, the joy with which the poeple of Iraq tore down his statue? Wars that are fought in the name of liberation, are wars that I support. Ecclesiastes says that there is a time for everything, including a time for war. Yes, there is a high price to pay,I think I have the right to say that I (at least partly) understand that price. I am so proud of all those willing to pay it, they think it's worth it, and so do I.

I do not know, now that Iraq is liberated, if troops should stay or not. There are many countries out there who can not operate on their own and I'm unsure where to draw the line sometimes. But I do believe that Bush was right in his decision to overthrow Saddam. I express this as one of my close friends, Paul, is over there right this moment and my dear friend Melissa yearns for his safe return so they can get married. I yearn for that too. Melissa feels what I did as a helpless ten-year-old, only she feels it on a much deeper level.

You may vote for whom-ever you like, you may say going to war was a mistake: but please support those who give their entire lives, whether by death or by living with haunting memories, for the gazillion little privileges you have every day, and for the freedom of those who cannot win it for themselves.

Israel-R-us

"She keeps running into herself, hoping to find somebody else." Plumb

God convincted me this morning about not being very thankful for this job that He's given me. I spent time on the phone talking with my friend, grumbling about it. I should be estatic! Yes, it's in a concrete box where I don't get to see students, but it is a clerical job, which I am good at, and not Wendy's or something; it's at Belhaven: a small Christian environment, not a harsh corporation, and it is $10 an hour, more than I've ever made before. So why haven't I blessed the name of Jesus; given praise to my Holy Father?

I am like Israel, always forgetting what God has done. Often, we Christians read all about Israel in the Bible and wonder at their spiritual stupidity, in bewilderment over why God picked them to be His chosen people. I think Israel most represents not only humanity, but Christians as well. Israel may have been bad, but when I look them, I see myself reflected. God gave us a great example of who we are and how He deals with us. We forget His provision from one moment to the next; we enact our own plans instead of obeying in trust; we worry about things we've already been promised. Sometimes He corrects, sometimes He grants mercy; always He remains faithful. Silly us.The word "remember" is used often in the Bible, I've come to notice, probably because we have such a tendency to forget what He's done, as we gaze ahead, unhappy with our present, worried about the future. Fortunately, God's faithfulness and mercy never changes, even His correction, which ensures we stay in truth, is steadfast. Amen.

Those are today's lunch-time musings.

side note: some artsy wanna-be stuff of mine http://photos1.blogger.com/img/278/1693/640/blog.1.jpg