Reflections on
Bread Not Bullets
Less than one week after writing my opinion piece "Bread Not Bullets", American forces started bombing Afghanistan.
People who had nothing to do with the original "outrage" are now dead.
When I heard the report I was in a church in Scotland.
I wept.
A simple question:
Will we stop the attack when the number of innocents who die equal the victims at the World Trade Center and Pentagon?
Perhaps it should be judged using a different scale.
Let's see if I have this straight; Men, women and children who die in other countries aren't worth as much as the lives of Americans, are they?
Besides, we have to get the assassins, don't we? Stop the true terrorists, no matter where they try to hide.
But wait, there were people from all over the world in those twin buildings. Maybe we need to figure out how many for each country to take their own personal pound of flesh.
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I'm not too good with numbers, but I'm sure we can work out some form of revenge ruler. Perhaps we need one of those sliding scales to determine the actual numbers. Do two Afghan-Moslems equal one American-Christian? This could get tricky for Afghan-Christians or American-Moslems. |
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We should also consider if they actually practice their religion, or only attend services a few times a year. And what if they daydream and don't chant the words? What if they're older and fall asleep during worship? That can't be worth as much in a Godly scale.
In God We Trust... hmmmm... I've got it: how about God Dollars? Do Presbyterians get more credit than Catholics? What about those Mormons? I really don't know much about Jehovah's Witnesses, so how do we rate them? And what about the Jews? Worth more or less than Christians?
What about Jewish Arabs? This could get complicated very easily. Is an American Buddhist worth more than a Viet Namese Buddhist? I'm sure there must have been some from each group in the WTC on that fateful day.
O.K. I've got it! We hold an election where those who vote actually have them counted. But who's eligible? Who'll determine who lives or dies?
When I was 18, I couldn't vote. Neither could Clinton or Bush. We three are of an age, by the way.
All this reminds me of those Science Fiction movies Bill, George and I enjoyed in the 50's and 60's. Poison air and people with little holes in the back of their necks. Pods! And spies everywhere. Who's good and who's bad? Are you sure? You couldn't tell in the darkened movie theaters on a Saturday afternoon.
Since we three were born in '46, I might possibly have been friends with Billy or Dub. Not necessarily. I didn't hang out with my betters. Poor George, he had real problems with grades and drinking, but hey, he eventually got help. At least I suppose he did. I imagine he needed to play on the football team. I ran the sound system for the events at school, and supported the home team. Still do. High school wasn't all that different in '64.
But I digress.. This is serious business. Much more weighty than any football game, even the World Series... whoops... I mean the Super Bowl...
What the heck was I thinking?
A Simple Request
Say a prayer for those who have died.
Say a prayer for those who will die from the vengeance being planned. It may be you or your children. It will certainly be other people's children.
Say a prayer for them, no matter what their skin color, religion, or politics.
I wonder if Jesus knows how to pilot a bomber or carry a rifle?
He'll need to learn if he wants to be part of the new crusade.
Think he'll fly?
HJP2
10.20.01
They say that until we learn the lessons of history, we're doomed to repeat our mistakes.
This piece was written in November of 2002, one year later..
Yeah, far right!