Friday, May 28, 2010
What Have We Become?
This blog post is not for the faint of heart. I'm fed up...and you should be too. Tomorrow morning we will all awaken to hear one of the top news headlines be that the repeal of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" is within reach. Pastors will preach about it this weekend. Politicians will debate and defend their votes. The gay community will cheer and await in uncertainty about whether this means we are a little more respected. We'll all have an opinion. But, this isn't really a blog about gays. You see, you're all entitled to your belief about us, and we, in turn, are entitled to our opinions about your beliefs. What this blog is really about is the larger message that I believe we, as a people, are missing.
Attached to this policy reform is a $700 billion defense spending bill. And, I have a question for all of the conservative, Christians I've heard comments from all day. How do you reconcile supporting the funding of an institution whose SOLE purpose is to kill people? I know...we have fuzzy ways to not call it that. We call it "defense," "necessities of freedom," "vengence." But, words, no matter how wattered down, cannot water down Truth. The truth is over 100,000 Iraqi CIVILIANS have been killed since we started this war more than seven years ago. It makes no sense to me how the same political party that is in complete allegiance to protecting life through banning abortion also raise their flag proudly defending the taking of life in other countries. It's black and white. Either you embrace and support the protection of life or you don't. You cannot simultaneously be pro-life and pro-war. They are the antithesis of one another.
Let's go even further. This same political party has raised hell over the same social issues for decades-abortion, gay rights, military, and economic conservatism. So, it's no wonder when the most liberal president begins signing enormous spending bills, they are up in arms. Except...it is a little confusing for those of us who pay attention. First, the war in Iraq has already cost us over $3 trillion. Second, President Bush put this country into $5 trillion of debt during the life of his presidency. Where were all of the economic conservatives who are just now revolting against national spending? Third, this party fights to protect life but also is infuriated when the President finally says we are going to pay for health care to be available for all Americans to SUSTAIN life, because it's going to cost "too much." So...we want to protect life but don't want to pay for it? And, we supposedly want to protect life, but we will gladly support paying for other nations to lose their lives? Am I the only one confused? And, while my sarcasm may be a little extreme since I've had it with the hypocrisy, this is a very serious problem that I don't think many of them actually spend deep time considering.
So..who would Jesus bomb? When he was nailed to that cross, he was not telling his disciples to go grab the closest rocks they could and stone the soldiers who were crucifying him. Yet, this is exactly the attitude too many Christians have today, and it's appauling. Stop calling yourselves Christians, because Christ never once embodied vengence. The greatest leaders that we teach our children about all had very common teachings and practices-nonviolence, love, and forgiveness. Jesus Christ, Martin Luther King, Jr., Ghandi, Nelson Mandela, and these are just a few.
Violence propogates violence. Hatred breeds further hatred. We have thrown God's name on our bombs and our money and failed to heed to the true message of Christ by doing so. It is not the gays who are a measure of how far this country has drifted from its Christian roots. It is the many Christians themselves, who support the propogation of the antithesis of Christ's teachings and actually believe they are doing God's work.
Call me liberal. Call me angry. Call me anything that helps comfort you if you do not agree, but I will be laying my head down tonight knowing that policies may come and go, but Christ's message we will be eternally responsible for upholding or destroying. So, I ask you again, Who Would Jesus Bomb?
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