It rained in Atlanta on Memorial Day, and in this brief reflection I want to rain a bit on how we mark Memorial Day in this country.
When the Braves played in Atlanta that day, 50,000 of us got a version of the following Memorial Day script:
Today we honor those brave men and women who have made the ultimate sacrifice for our country. They have died that we might live. They have lost their lives that we might enjoy our freedoms. We honor them for their heroism and sacrifice. We honor all of those who serve in our military. Our hearts swell with patriotism as we applaud our servicemen and servicewomen in their uniforms, as we watch the fighter jets fly over the stadium, and as we sing the National Anthem and God Bless America in the direction of the huge American flag displayed before us.
As far as I know, the United States government does not plan how Memorial Day is honored at Turner Field or other stadiums. But the government benefits from this way of telling the story, in the sense that the script invariably reinforces rather than challenges a state of affairs in which 18-year-olds go off to kill and to die for our country on a daily basis.
The casualties of war pose a problem for nation-states, a problem that must somehow be addressed. Family and national grief over the premature loss of so many lives, often very young lives, could become a force that would hinder the state's ability to wage war. So the state must honor those who have died for its causes quite solemnly, and it must encourage its citizens to honor the dead. But it must do so in a way that raises no challenge to the state as it asks for and sacrifices so many young lives.
The resulting script honors the dead, by extension honors the military, and prepares our national soul for the further deployment of the military and the further production of casualties that will need to be honored at the next Memorial Day. Ingeniously, it gives us just enough space to grieve a bit over our losses but not enough to think critically about the state's production of those losses.
At the stadium I, too, honored the dead. But as a parent, I was mainly thinking about parents who have to pass by the bedrooms of their dead teenagers, with the posters and the books and the DVDs still in place, awaiting the children (yes, they are children!) who will never again return to those rooms.
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From the perspective of my faith and my experience, poverty and oppression are the real core of conflicts in our world today. They are the Petri dish of terrorism and insurgencies.
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As a rabbi, I'd like to offer two things that seem to be missing from the now public discussion of Cordoba House: a pastoral voice, and a piece of wisdom from the past.
I have been similarly disturbed by the celebrations of might which were part of nearly all the Nationals games, when the team played at RFK, right next door to National Guard Armory (never been to new stadium). In particular, the events for Memorial Day were disturbing -- but I was not so articulate in saying why I was disturbed.
The final paragraph called vividly to mind the Viet-Nam-era song, "The Ballad of Penny Evans" -- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j6W_a2U-bIU -- written by Chicago-area folk musician Steve Goodman (may his memory be for a blessing). Because of this song, awareness of the "50,000 Heart'n'Souls being played with just one hand" has been part of my view of war for most of my life. But, of course, there were many more deaths in Viet Nam than those Heart'n'Soul-playing U.S. soldiers (as mentioned in another comment here).
Clergy Beyond Borders is seeking resources from various faith traditions regarding mourning and honoring the dead while also contributing to peace-building. Look for the discussion on Facebook.
Weapons are the tools of violence;
all decent men detest them.
Weapons are the tools of fear;
a decent man will avoid them
except in the direst necessity
and, if compelled, will use them
only with the utmost restraint.
Peace is his highest value.
If the peace has been shattered,
how can he be content?
His enemies are not demons,
but human beings like himself.
He doesn't wish them personal harm.
Nor does he rejoice in victory.
How could he rejoice in victory
and delight in the slaughter of men?
He enters a battle gravely,
with sorrow and with great compassion,
as if he were attending a funeral.
I was thinking along very similar lines this Memorial Day. I found myself questioning why there is no Memorial Day for all the war dead on all sides, not just soldiers. I found myself questioning why we do not grieve that many of our war dead died for slavery, extermination of native populations, territorial expansion, material gain and maintenance of oppression, rather than peace and freedom. We should not forget that many did die to save others-but certainly many of them did not. Memorial Day should be a day we dedicate ourselves to work to assure that our soldiers die only when there is no other choice, and that we will exhaust the opportunities to end our disputes in a peaceful manner.
I think a society that worships its military and turns quickly to war as a response to the dangers that face us, is a society in trouble. We have a childish fixation with violence as a solution for the world's problems. I think that might not be true if we had suffered the hell of war on our own soil more recently than 1865.
Also, the reflex (borne out of fear?) to cast anyone in the military as a hero is disturbing. War also dehumanizes the killer, as well as the killed. Have you seen the extended ads being shown in movie theaters to recruit the very young to the military? They portray war as a combination of video game and extreme sport.
I have tremendous sympathy and compassion for young people who fall for this kind of campaign and find themselves in the most dehumanizing situation imaginable.
As someone once put it, "Have you ever seen a 19-year-old in a killing frenzy?"
The military mania mentality will not tolerate the kind of logic that shines forth in your comment. To them, you are a heretic (or traitor) if you do not agree that any American soldier, anywhere, and in any confict in our history, is or was "defending our freedom."
The process of enticement begins in our brain
When we fantasize about what sparks our fire.
Eventually our thoughts stir our emotions
And we risk everything to obtain desire.
Our victory over sin can only be accomplished
As we follow the power of God’s rule.
Through faith, trust, compliance and love
We evade what is shameful and cruel.
When we heed to the voice of God within
We celebrate His power, majesty and grace.
We reject temptation and cling to His love
Till His blessings radiate from our face.
From all that’s immoral, wicked and hateful
Only through love of faith, can we turn away.
When we humbly pray to gain God’s wisdom
We sidestep the penalty of misjudgments at play.
As we come the point where we must make our choice
Will we shun what is vile or seek its promise of pleasure?
Every time we blunder sad consequences occur
And we loose the life’s splendor, fulfillment and treasure.
“Free To Use To Teachâ€
By Conservative Poet &
Soldier For The Lord
Tom Zart
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