OK, this is part rant, too. I don’t know about the prevailing rhetoric in other parts of the country, but in my area (one of the most conservative counties in Texas), my blood starts boiling when I hear people equate religion with patriotism. As if you have to be Christian to be patriotic. And as if you’re not a good Christian if you don’t blindly and rabidly support your politicians. And, of course, implied in that, is that if you’re not Christian, you’re also not a patriot.
My mom received an e-mail chain letter that set me off again. (I bet Nathan is rolling his eyes at me as I type. :))
A mother asked President Bush, “Why did my son have to die in Iraq?”
Another mother asked President Kennedy, “Why did my son have to die in Viet Nam?”
Another mother asked President Truman, “Why did my son have to die in Korea?
Another mother asked President F.D. Roosevelt, “Why did my son have to die at Iwo Jima?”
Another mother asked President W. Wilson, “Why did my son have to die on the battlefield of France?”
Yet another mother asked President Lincoln, “Why did my son have to die at Gettysburg?”
And yet another mother asked President G. Washington, “Why did my son have to die near Valley Forge?”
Then long, long ago, a mother asked…”Heavenly Father, why did my Son have to die on a cross outside of Jerusalem?”
The answers to all these are similar — “So that others may have life and dwell in peace, happiness and freedom.”
This was emailed to me with no author and I thought the magnitude and the simplicity were awesome …
Love to All
IF YOU DON’T STAND BEHIND OUR TROOPS, PLEASE, FEEL FREE…TO STAND IN FRONT OF THEM!!!
*sigh* Equating the death of Jesus to the various wars with the adage that it’s all so people “may have life and dwell in peace, happiness and freedom”? Sadly, the life of peace, happiness, and freedom touted in that message seems to be reserved only for people who think exactly like the perpetuators of that message. Love to all? Yeah, rightAlright, I’ll hop down off my soapbox (again).
One final thought. I saw a bumper sticker last weekend that really stood out (partly because it’s a pretty unusual sentiment for my local roadways): Why do we kill people who kill people to show them that killing people is wrong?
I could not agree with you more. Talk about the ultimate perversion of Christ’s message. I mean, call me a wacky Wiccan, but didn’t Jesus teach love and forgiveness and peace? Turn the other cheek? It floors me that these people can’t see that they’re participating in the same kind of religious zealotry that brought down the World Trade Center. I don’t recall Jesus ever saying, “Go forth and wage war in my name.” Or maybe I just didn’t read that part.