War

Hello world!

I’m using my daily thoughts and encounters to discover as many things as possible which bring together, rather than divide, our various belief systems and cultures.

“War is a continuation of politics by other means” – Capt Ramsay (Gene Hackman), The Crimson Tide

I’ll come back to that quote a little later.  But this week, war has been a poignant theme with Armistice Day having taken place over the weekend.  And war is a difficult reality for religion and peace to come to terms with.  After all, how can horror and killing be justified, and you may be asking what place such a subject has in a blog that is trying to find common ground when war divides both figuratively and literally?

It may surprise you that I’m not actually a pacifist.  No matter how many of us on this planet agree that living in peace is right, it only takes one person with the wrong ideas to get too much power.  So countries need to have reasonable means to defend themselves.  What our history shows us is that war has been the catalyst for a surprising amount of ultimate good, such as medical and surgical advancements which had to race to keep up with the number of injured needing treatment.

War has shaped our political planet and helped point us past our intrinsic ‘we are best’ mindset.  What we all need to be mindful of is the high price in lives that has been paid for this evolution in our societies.  And that’s what occasions like Remembrance Day are all about.

One of the most solemn moments of the year is when the Last Post is played on Armistice Day, followed by the traditional 2 minutes’ silence.  The meaning of this is to remember those who died for their country.  But it’s important we spare thoughts for all those who have fought in wars around the world.  It doesn’t matter whether they are or were British, French, US, German, South African, Japanese, Argentine, Allied or otherwise.   Wearing our poppies with pride is not a way of blowing raspberries at the Germans.  Neither is celebrating Independence Day in the US intended to be a slight on us here in the UK.  So let’s remember how the courage and conviction of duty of all soldiers on both sides of every war has helped us be what we are today, and let’s cease bearing any residual grudges.

As for Capt Ramsay, he hit the nail on the head when he said politics.  Should it be a continuation of religion by other means?  I’m not here to force too many personal opinions on you all, but I hope that one day everyone in the world comes to the same answer.  And I’ll leave you with a short piece of wisdom from the apostle Paul, in Romans 12:14 – “Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse”.

I’d be interested to know if something similar appears in other holy texts around the world.  If so, decide for yourselves whether or not the values of religion should themselves be defence enough.

Thanks for listening, and take care!