Memorial Day

I know that this post will probably upset more than one person. However, this is a topic that has been on my mind a lot for the last few months.
Tomorrow is Memorial Day. I'd always been taught as a kid that it's a day when we honor all the fallen soldiers. I guess now it's more of a day when we honor everyone who has died. But it's not in the memorial of the dead that I take any kind of offense. It's in the glorification of the warrior.
I'm sure that in Churches all across the country today, in Homilies and Sermons alike, the topic of "the sacrifice of those who fought for our freedom" was discussed. Why is this discussed in Church? Are we not supposed to have some kind of separation between Church and state? As Christians we should realize that many of the wars we have fought have been against fellow Christians. And even aside from this, the others are still children of God, made in His image and likeness as well.
I feel it is a highly overplayed and shameless tactic to call all American soldiers people who "have fought for our freedom." What freedom were we looking for in Korea, Vietnam, Iraq or Afghanistan? What freedoms were we looking for when we ran through Mexico and South America? How can we proclaim to be fighting to defend our liberty when nobody is attacking us?
What also, of those shameless atrocities committed during war? What of massacres like Mai Lai? What of the raping of innocents? What of the trauma inflicted on those caught in the crossfire? What of slaughtering other men who feel just as justified in fighting for their cause? How can we glorify such action? How can we call our cause admirable if we're willing to kill others rather than reconcile with them?
Jesus told us to make peace with our brothers. He told us to turn the other cheek and to meekly accept persecution. He called the sufferers great. He commanded us to be peacemakers. He told us that the greatest commandment is not to kill, but to love.
Rather than saluting those who for one reason or another took the path of the warrior, I'd like to salute those that didn't.I wish to salute the draft dodgers of the Vietnam era. I wish to praise men who "ran like cowards" rather than accepting the mandated call to arms. I wish to glorify the students who died at Kent State for protesting an unjust war.
I think of Dorothy Day, and her words on the end of the Second World War. When the bomb was dropped on Hiroshima, killing 300,000 Japanese, President Truman was "jubilant." Dorothy Day was horrified. How can we be jubilant about anything which causes such great death and destruction? How can we laud any kind of weaponry advances? Why do we pray for the men and women in the armed forces rather than praying for an immediate cessation of conflict?
I find myself praying ever more for peace. I pray more and more for heads of state to seek alternative measures to armed conflict. I pray that we Americans will cease to idolize the virtues of Vergil's Aeneid and trade them for Erasmus' Handbook of The Christian Soldier. I pray that we strive more for the martyr's death than the hero's death. I pray that our role models will be men and women of great faith and great acts of charity rather than men and women of great courage and great acts of battle-field valor.

pax aut bellum

One of the most peculiar things I have seen in American Christianity is the tendency towards violence. To be sure, Christianity has at times embraced violence in an unflattering way. However, in today's culture, it seems that being "A red-blooded American," being "A God-fearing Christian," and "supporting the war effort" have become synonymous.
Why is that? Since when does being a follower of Christ mean taking arms against others. The early Christians were willing to die for their beliefs. Many were submitted to savage punishments, such as crucifixion, and being part of the gladiatorial games. Origen of Alexandria, when his father was arrested for being a Christian, would have gladly turned himself in were it not for the fact that his mother hid his clothing and he would not run out naked (thank God for that!).
Today, though, one sees on the back of cars bumper stickers that proclaim the driver's undying faith in God, complete loyalty to the country and support of our wars.
Can being a Christian be reconcilable with supporting violence?
Many argue that we are liberating peoples. That we are granting them democracy. Is this really the case? Who brought democracy to us? On a purely historic basis, it was more the people of this nation who desired freedom from the oppression that allowed the revolution to take place than anything else.
So, what should we do if we wish to help those in oppressed nations? Do we try to give them democracy? I think that the present situation in Iraq should answer with a resounding "NO!" that this is a bad idea. If we want people to enjoy freedom, we have no right to imose it on them. Yes, one might argue that this was the case with the American Civil War, but I can assure you it is not. Slaves would escape to the Northern states for freedom. All would have done so if it were not for punishments incurred by slave owners. The Civil War also only changed one law. The North did not try to impose completely new governments on the South (though it did try to reunify them with the Union). The North didn't change the governmental system and try to impose new leaders.
Consider also the Quakers. These people are an exemplary instance of how one can be a Pacifist and still enact change. Quakers helped end the slave trade by civil disobedience. Instead of fighting in the war, they refused to purchase goods made by the labor of slaves.
There are a miriad of instances where Christianity has been shown to bring about good without violent means. Consider Mother Theresa's efforts, Martin Luther King Jr, St Stephen the Martyr, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, etc.
How can we call ourselves Christians if we are not willing to "turn the other cheek?"