I was discouraged but not surprised to read about the reports released by Wikileaks last week. They reveal that the death toll of civilians in Iraq is considerably higher than reported and that American forces often ignored torture and murder perpetrated by Iraqi sects. In some cases they were the ones involved in torture. War is a grim business and human beings can be convinced to act against morals and conscience under these extreme circumstances. What a mess.I was encouraged to come across a piece in the Christian Century magazine called Soldiers Against Torture which is about U.S. soldiers whose devout faith of a variety of Christian expressions compelled them to stand up against atrocities, even when it meant that they were criticized or threatened. http://www.christiancentury.org/article/2010-09/soldiers-against-torture
One of them, a marine lawyer Lieutenant Colonel Stuart Couch, listened to a sermon by his Anglican priest who called on his parishioners to "respect the dignity of every human being." The message led Couch to refuse prosecution of a Guantanamo Bay prisoner who had been tortured. His example hit home in light of the Omar Kadhr trial.
Is it possible to live according to one's Christian values and fight a war? Do you think you could put your Christian faith above fear and bitterness with those who have been identified as the enemy?
Bruce Springsteen's 2005 album "Devils and Dust" deals with this issue directly. In the title track, a solidier (one not identified by nationality or 'side' in a conflict) is on patrol considering the role God has in what he does for a living.
ReplyDeleteThe soldier sings "I've got God on my side/I'm just trying to survive," but also laments that what he does to survive "kills the things he loves." It's not clear whose side God is on; only that that singer is assured it's his. The implication is also that the enemy probably has similar thoughts running through his mind.
I cannot possibly imagine the mindset you'd have to have on the ground in Afghanistan, or during any international conflict in order to stay sane and be able to live with what you're doing. Where would faith stand in my mind if all I could think about was returning home safe to my family and friends? What would I do? What would I turn a blind eye to?
There are no easy answers for myself, and so I applaud the group you mention, David, for taking a righteous stand in what I would understate as difficult times.
I just recently watched a movie called, "In the Valley of Elah," inspired on the real life happenings of soldiers killing one of their own. I'm usually not into war movies, but this one told of a father who loved his son,, who was a "good boy" and wanted to know what had happened to his son.
ReplyDeleteEventually he finds out some of the horrors his son faced and how his son and his mates changed because of them, even torturing individuals, friend or foe.
It's scary to think how one's mind needs to change in order to cope with what one is doing during a time of war.
Music and movies -- two of my pleasures. Thanks for both of these additions to the discussion.
ReplyDeleteThere is nothing easy about this, is there? We train people to fight our battles and honour them for doing so. It seems to me that we try not to think of what it does tothem psychologically to be warriors on our behalf.
The film Brothers is another interesting exploration of the effects of war.