God's Politics - Chapter 7
Part III: Spiritual Values and International Relations
When Did Jesus Become Pro-War?
Chapter 7 - Be Not Afraid
A Moral Response to Terrorism
The Public Relations arm of the US foreign policy is founded on one thing. Fear.
It is ironic to me that a people who define themselves and supposedly draw their identity and hope from one specific day in history, (namely the day that God defeated any power of death by raising Jesus from the dead) are all too often the ones who buy into this culture of fear, and desire "security" (which is a euphemism for militarism) the most.
Wallis rightly points out that the war against Iraq was based entirely on fear, and it has now been proven time and time again; not on fact. Wallis quotes Thomas Merton, "the root of war is fear." And this is surely the case, as the US has not found it necessary to go to war against Saudi Arabia which is certianly not a democracy and does have ties to militant terrorist groups, nor has it deemed war with Israel necessary, as they continuely bulldoze Palestinian houses (regardless of the presence of people) in land they have invaded and stolen. If ties to terrorism, or outright systematic opression were really the reasons for going to war, the scope would be much larger. It just so happens that these were convienent ways to scare the US public who was justifiably fearful of terrorist attack, and also incredibly ignorant about terrorism and foriegn states. Fear + Ignorance = an easy public to persuade. With a media that was more excited about war-time ratings and advertisement revenue than with questioning the appaling case for war... well we were pretty much in for it.
Wallis says on page 88, "fear can cause us to give up important things, to accept other things that violate our own best values, and even to do terrible things to other people." For an in depth look at how governments use fear to create a percieved need for "security," and thereby get a blank check on using violence, even against their own people for the purposes of "security" see Torture and Eucharist by William Cavanaugh.
Wallis goes on to cite another unChristian reaction of the US public to terrorism. He says, "instead of accepting the vulnerability that most of the rest of the world already lives with, and even learning from it, we seem to want something nobody can give us--to erase our vulnerability. We want it to just go away. If the governement says more wars can do that, many people will say fine." And yet vulnerability, not security is at the heart of the gospel. Did Jesus have bodyguards? Anyone today saying the things he said would probably want them. As a comedian said out the other day on Comedy Central, "I'm all for peace, but I'm not saying we can ALL get along. Because I don't want to die. You preach that kind of peace and you'll get killed. MLK Jr. *bam*, Gandhi *bam*, Jesus... *bam, bam, bam*" And yet that's the life Jesus led. A life of total vulnerability. If I remember corectly, we aren't higher than our master... we need to reclaim vulnerability, not security as a Christian virtue.
Wallis says that "when a government offers to take away our vulnerability, it borders on idolatry." He said it!
Deny them their victory.
This phrase was often used by salesmen in order to guilt us into buying their product. "Don't let the terrorists win, buy Cheetos" was almost surely heard somewhere in America in 2001. "The Terrorists" even became an excuse for us to indulge in our excess and sinfulness so that "they" might not win. Thinking about buying a gas-sipping honda? Why not buy a Suburban and get 26" rims to put on it instead? You don't want the terrorists to win do you? Stanley Hauerwas wrote a great piece on this shortly after 9/11. In it he says of the terrorists, "their willingness to die stands in stark contrast to a politics that asks of its members in response to September 11 to shop."
In contrast with this kind of "don't let them win" thinking, Wallis proposes that the right response is transformation, not sticking our heads in the sand. It was in his words, a teachable moment. A time to examine who we are. There were two paths to take after 9/11, Wallis says, one was demanding that those responsible for the attacks were brough to justice and tried for their crimes. This path also encouraged introspection amidst the "realness of life and the things that matter" that many felt in the wake of 9/11. This was a time for us to see our blind spots, to become a more just society to become a better nation for the rest of the world. The other path would answer suffering with more suffering. It would accuse introspection of treason, and of siding with those who attacked us. To put it in Al Franken's words, this kind of patriotism is the way a 3 year-old loves mommy, not the mature love of a spouse. And so the US government at least, has chosen the 2nd path... On page 95 Wallis says, "Bombing the children of Kabul and Baghdad created utter glee among the Osama bin Ladens of the world, who finnally are able to raise the armies of terror they've always dreamed of. It also deprived [the United States] of the moral high ground..."
but the people in this country, ESPECIALLY the Christians, still can choose the first path
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posted by Charlie at 8:39 PM
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