c. 2003 Religion News Service
(Tom Ehrich is a writer and computer consultant, managing large-scale database implementations. An Episcopal priest, he lives in Durham, N.C.)
CLEVELAND _ My return trip from Denver is proving to be as aggravating as the trip out. Winter weather in Newark, N.J., delays our crew, which delays our flight, and so on.
Should I even notice my annoyance? With war on the horizon, what is a two-hour delay in a comfortable airport?
Instead, maybe it is time to talk of war. Each of us. Not that we are of one mind _ for we are deeply divided _ but because, if and when war breaks out, I think we each need to have reflected on what is transpiring.
In all likelihood, this war won’t remain safely “over there,” where our designated warriors do brave and selfless duty. It will come home to roost. Some argue that it started here, on Sept. 11, 2001, while others dispute the link between 9/11 and Iraq. Some say it started 12 years ago in Persian Gulf War I.
At a minimum, the recession will worsen, jobs will evaporate, gasoline prices will skyrocket, surging federal deficits will send interest rates soaring and deprivation will grow. At worst, terrorists will strike the homeland. Given some leaders’ casual attitudes toward constitutional rights, before long freedoms will be lost.
We don’t want to be surprised when this occurs. We don’t want to lose even more of our humanity by overreacting, turning vengefully against mosques and foreigners, calling for the militarization of American life. We don’t want to be stampeded into ugly behavior or driven into glum silence, for we are citizens in a democracy, not medieval peasants dreading the king’s approach.
We don’t want to turn against our neighbors. Yes, feelings are strong. But we need to remember that disagreement is the lifeblood of a democracy.
We don’t want to dishonor the soldiers and sailors who serve in Iraq. They didn’t choose this war. But when called, they serve. We must support them, even if we question the war that endangers them. We must welcome them home with honor and gratitude, not with disdain. Our troops aren’t the enemy.
To achieve perspective, we must think about the war. Not just read headlines and form an opinion, but think about what and why, and what in each of us contributed to the collapse of peace. For war is a sign of failure. No rational society sets out to destroy lives and to lose lives. Wars happen because leaders and the led failed. We need to think about our failures.
We need also to think about the worsening divisions in our world along the fault line of religion. We have fallen back into the insanity of pre-modern times, when slaughter in the name of God was deemed holy duty.
Even if one disputes Iraq as a target, one must still deal with an implacable enemy that loathes America and its freedoms. Even if this particular war feels wrong, the fact of this enemy remains. What do we think about it?
I plead for thinking because I know that, once war starts, emotions will surge. Some leaders will demand that we rally round the flag, as if dissent were treasonous. Harsh words like “warmonger” and “coward” will reappear. We need to have thought first, before emotionalism takes over.
I want to tell you what I think, not to sway anyone’s mind, but to urge you to think deeply, too.
I think we are on the verge of a grave mistake. I don’t know if it is a mistake of timing, or of gross misperceptions, or of hubris run amok. This war feels like a diversionary adventure from the final years of the Roman Empire. I think it flows from the maneuverings of effete theorists who themselves will sacrifice nothing. I think our top leaders have too much attitude, too little wisdom. I think our economy will suffer mightily, for an unworthy cause. I think we run the risk of losing the soul of our democracy.
Rather than nod in agreement or bristle in disdain at my views, I urge you to examine your own views about this looming war. When we are in a wilderness, we don’t want to be blindsided by events or manipulated by the darkness.
DEA END EHRICH
