a pragmatic sort of pacifism

I was against the war in Iraq before it was cool. Hell, I was against going into Afghanistan. Why? Because war, once unleashed, is a force that runs contrary to the best interests of humanity. It destroys innocents in its path. It dehumanizes the combatants and turns them into meat to be ground up in the machine of ideological chaos, and spawns new conflicts while attempting to solve the old. In the event where total annihalation of the enemy is the goal, and you have a good chance of seeing a kinder and gentler government spring up from the rubble you leave behind, I think it works. Otherwise, I’m a big fan of building the resistance movements from within. It’s not perfect, but it’s better than the alternative. Nothing quite like watching a bad situation get worse in a vacuum of power.

The only time that I feel it is appropriate is when the option for peaceful, non-violent civil disobedience within the country has utterly failed and the costs of not going forward with regime change make it crystal clear that appeasement is not an option. Nazi Germany would be a good example. Iraq? Not so much. I would love it if I lived in a world where I could say yes, let’s go to Iraq and show them what freedom looks like… but I don’t. I live in a world where our presence in Iraq also means that we now have a certain number (even if it’s a very small minority) of culturally insensitive jerks who think the only good Iraqi is a dead Iraqi. Not a good thing. When we’re not sure who the enemy is, it’s easy to make assumptions that are simply wrong. Dangerous, too.

It seems to feed into the giant launch for a New Crusading Era in which the American way of life becomes the ready-or-not commodity that we impose on the world. I’m not a big fan of colonialism, and a culture that is not already in synch with our values is little more than a colony with a puppet government. That’s not what freedom looks like, in my book.

So, we wait around indefinitely for the culture to change and the separation of church and state to catch on in Iraq and Afghanistan (and elsewhere). We may be waiting a while. Ironically, we’re using government sanctioned programs like the OSU tour and an increasingly evangelical fundamentalist base of chaplains to keep morale up while we wait. Here’s one reason (from their website) why I’m bitter about this:

“Troops have a lot of time on their hands. The life of a soldier is hurry up and wait. A soldier’s life can go from extremely boring to bombs exploding all around them in seconds. During the down time soldiers have a lot of free time to fill. I think we are all aware that PC games are gaining huge ground in our world. In our “Freedom Packets” we have included a PC game that is still exciting enough for the hard core gamer, but while he plays it, he finds himself without a soul or strength to be very successful in life unless he lives life properly. Life and death is in the hands of the gamer. Left Behind Games by Tim LaHaye and Jerry Jenkins reports that many lives are being transformed, from a life of hell to the freedom of heaven, just from playing this game. It’s just one more way OSU Tour can be a conduit in changing a soul forever.”

So, let’s get this straight. The government is now sponsoring faith based healing for PTSD that involves having these kids blow up people who won’t convert to Christianity? (There’s a bit of a surge in the evangelicalism among chaplains, and I think this is something we need to be talking about.) I’m for the other good things they put in their goodie bags. Good job. Soldiers need snacks and supplies, and it’s great that we’re thinking about them. But as far as taking a captive audience and essentially indoctrinating them into an evangelical approach to End Times philosophy? Look, I’m a little concerned about this. I’m a little pissed off that my tax dollars are paying for it in the name of “entertaining the troops”. Could we, perhaps, get these kids home instead and treat them with things like love and kindness from their friends and family. Would it be possible to focus on getting them (gasp!) VA benefits when necessary?

No?

Damn.o?Damn.

More and more, I find myself echoing the sentiment expressed by Robert Kohler:

“If this is a religious war — a “clash of civilizations,” waged by competing agents of God’s will — victory may be indistinguishable from Armageddon. God help the human race.” (more)