[Vision2020] War and Faith

[Tom Hansen]

>From "The Sandbox" at:

http://gocomics.typepad.com/the_sandbox/

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WAR AND FAITH

Name: SPC Freeman 
Posting date: 8/7/07
Stationed in: Iraq 
Milblog url: http://calmbeforethesand.blogspot.com

War and faith, it seems to me, must always have had a close relationship.
Ironic, since many mainline forms of religion would consider war
antithetical to their charters. That being said, for those close to death,
there are few more effective salves for the spirit than faith. Catholic,
Protestant, Jewish, Muslim, Hindu, or Pagan -- the true diversity of our
military is reflected in our expressions of faith. 

Our Constitution refutes the assertion that America is an expressly
Christian nation. And yet: Christians, particularly Evangelicals, dominate
the American military. Not surprising, I suppose, given the way that faith
and politics have intertwined in recent years. Faith gives people a story
and a role; politics gives us the means to enact that role. Even our films
and books portray the end times arising from political auspices. When the
lines between Church and State blur, what else is to be expected? 

And so we are told that we are fighting a Culture War. The running
storyline: America, the last bastion of Christian democracy, is locked in a
battle-to-the-death with wild-eyed heathens in a distant land. America, they
tell us, is in grave danger of being wiped out by dark-skinned foes; foes
who want to burn down our churches, bomb our urban centers, brainwash our
children, and subjugate our women. They say that unless we take the war to
their soil, the hordes will descend upon us like a plague of Old Testament
locusts. So to their soil we take it. And all the while, good men and women
die as powerful old men, safe in air-conditioned offices, reap huge profits
and tell us the economy has never been better. 

The subplot: The Arab world, the cradle of civilization, is locked in a war
with pale-skinned occupiers from a distant land. The Muslim world, they tell
each other, is in grave danger of being crushed under the jackboots of
latter-day Crusaders; sinners and unbelievers who want to tear down the
mosques, ransack the local culture, brainwash children with dreams of
materialistic excess, and befoul the purity of Muslim women. They say unless
all Arabs take up the cause of jihad, the heart of everything Muslim will be
gutted and sold to the highest Western bidder. And yet, as people leap upon
the sword of the American juggernaut, the clerics who sent them there only
grow in power. 

There, as here, some people believe the hype more than others. Reasoning
minds rise above the bloodshed and call for peace. But for those with little
or nothing but faith, the perceived Divine call for vengeance is tempting.
Christian. Muslim. Church. State. Theocrat. Theocrat. Are we really so
different? And where is there room in all of this for the Buddhist? 

It's not easy being a Buddhist in the military. On my time off, should I
want for spiritual counsel, can I count on the local Chaplaincy? Not likely.
Try as they might, there are too few in this military who know anything
about the Buddhist faith, let alone how to give solace to one. On my time
off, the best I can hope for is to find a quiet spot for my altar and a few
undisturbed minutes for meditation. Buddha, yes, Dharma, yes, but no Sangha.
A faith supported on two pillars cannot stand. 

The Buddhist prizes Detachment where others prize Purity; the Buddhist
prizes Compassion where others prize Salvation. The Buddhist rejects
Suffering where others try -- always failing -- to reject Sin. Buddhists may
not be strangers to War, but we are particular about the wars we choose. So
what happens when we find ourselves fighting other faiths' wars? I cannot
detach myself from this. I cannot be at peace amidst this. Christians die,
Muslims die; good people on both sides of the fence die. And on both sides,
the faithful are sent to slaughter by people in power, who always claim to
hold the Moral High Ground. Power as Virtue. War as Faith. I'm standing in
the middle of a stampede, motionless. And the dust is only making it harder
to see.

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Seeya round town, Moscow.

Tom Hansen
Moscow, Idaho

"Patriotism is not a short and frenzied outburst of emotion but the tranquil
and steady dedication of a lifetime." 

--Adlai E. Stevenson, Jr.