We readily see peace in nature. We marvel at the smooth surface of a lake reflecting the mirror image of a mountain or forest, or perhaps the beauty of a flower, delicate in its full bloom. In that sense peace is seen as having been birthed by creation and remains a defiant if fragile statement about its source. It affirms what is and always has been.
But when we search for images of people evoking peace most of them are in the streets with hand-lettered signs rejecting what is. Peace is depicted as a protest against the status quo and an indictment of public policy.
We are weary of wars built on false foundations. We are angry that this nation's leaders seem to condone torture and other behaviors that spite its founding principles. We have lost young men and women who in good faith followed those who lead us. It is shameful to now see that the cause for which they died is unworthy of their sacrifice. That is a hard sentence to write. If I was the parent of one of the fallen I could not bear to do so. But still it must be said. The dying must end.
I yearn for the day when I "Google" the word "peace" and it returns images of the White House, the Capitol, and of tranquility not just in nature but also in the streets of this nation and around the world.Technorati tags: peace
I have two sons who have been over there in that war. So I know exactly what you mean. If anything happens to my sons in this war of Bush's, I will become even more activist. Just look at the way he has treated Cindy Sheehan, who did lose a son over there.
ReplyDeleteShameful!
My youngest son goes over for his third tour in September.
I simply hold my breath.
Sir, I am personally taken back by your comments regarding the war effort. Germany and Japen went through similar sufferings and look at the countries today. Perhaps some of the decisions that were made by the Presidents then were never made known to the general public as they are now.
ReplyDeletePeace does come at a cost. Often times at a very extreme cost. Until Zion comes... it must be as it is.
Peace will not happen until God brings it. We cannot sit by idly and deny human rights and promote human suffering. Sadly, we tend to fight for those causes only in countries with beneficial resources to the US but it is a starting point.
ReplyDeleteI'm saddened that some feel this way. I'm certain that soldiers would want support for the work they do. My boss' son was lost in this war; Byron was very proud of what he did and believed in his country. We miss him completely.
In response to "anonymous," I consider comparing Bush's invasion of Iraq a simplistic insult to the thousands of men and women who died defending our country against totalitarianism. There is absolutely no correlation between the Republican government's decision to go to Iraq, deliberately misleading Americans into believing that nation had something to do with the attack on our country and that it had weapons of mass destruction, and WWII.
ReplyDeleteThe Iraq invasion is not about peace, it is about greed, oil and imperialistic ambitions. How can there ever be peace in the world when the world's most powerful nation choses war instead of negotiation? How can there be peace when people who claim to be Christians promote the warrior agenda in His name? When I was a child, we were taught that Jesus was the Prince of Peace, not the God of War.
Until we are ready to accept all of humanity as deserving of peace, respect and dignity, then, as the original post implied, peace will always be something out of the ordinary. Respecting humanity doesn't mean being stupid. We will always have to defend ourselves from aggressors, unfortunately. But when we become the aggressors...well, I'm certainly not a Biblical scholar, but my guess is that Jesus had something to say about that, and I'm certain He couldn't get an audience with the current president to say it if He were alive today.
"Peace will not happen until God brings it. We cannot sit by idly and deny human rights and promote human suffering. Sadly, we tend to fight for those causes only in countries with beneficial resources to the US but it is a starting point."
ReplyDeleteAnd a poor starting point at that. As in our families, we di not need to fight. We need to talk and negotiate. Peace does not come easily. The ones who fight and die are generally not the rich ones in power. They send others' sons and daughters to do that dirty work.
God does not work without our willing hands. If God's work gets done, it is because we make it our work.