Showing posts with label war. Show all posts
Showing posts with label war. Show all posts
Thursday, August 06, 2009
Oldest Warrior
This article, about the life and death of one of Britain's last WWI veterans was quite striking. Particularly his comments on the war, and his comment that war is "the calculated, condoned slaughter of human beings." A striking thought from one who survived what the world at the time believed would never again occur on such a scale.
Tuesday, February 03, 2009
In the News...
There are various stories catching my attention today:
Fires are still catching my attention.
One dead, two missing in Winnipeg House Fire
Military news...
Body of Soldier Returns Home
This next story frustrates me. I am avidly opposed to abortion, however, I think a little bit of sensitivity in how that opposition is expressed could be in order. For example, a student group displaying horrifically violent and gruesome images, comparing abortion to the genocide in Rwanda, and the Holocaust, is probably not the most sensitive method of expressing opposition. Displaying those same photos in an area of the university campus frequented by small children is also probably not particularly sensitive. Insisting that the photos face outwards, instead of compromising with the university and letting them face inwards, so that people have a choice about whether or not to view them is problably not the most sensitive either.
And for the record, I'm not all that impressed with the university in the midst of this controversy either. (And I speak as an alumni of the school.) I do think the university should honor free speech, and I'm pleased that they offered to compromise with the students. However, engaging in a court debate over trespassing as free speech, and spending money that is primarily collected from students and alumni is perhaps not the best use of campus money. Especially by a university that has consistently raised tuition the maximum amount allowed under provincial regulations for the last several years.
U of C Charges Campus Anti-Abortion Group for Trespassing
U of C Administration Joins Campus Pro-Life on the Low Road
And finally, in news on depression/mental health, this headline caught my attention:
Antidepressants Lower Suicide Risk for Adults, Raise it for Adolescents
Fires are still catching my attention.
One dead, two missing in Winnipeg House Fire
Military news...
Body of Soldier Returns Home
This next story frustrates me. I am avidly opposed to abortion, however, I think a little bit of sensitivity in how that opposition is expressed could be in order. For example, a student group displaying horrifically violent and gruesome images, comparing abortion to the genocide in Rwanda, and the Holocaust, is probably not the most sensitive method of expressing opposition. Displaying those same photos in an area of the university campus frequented by small children is also probably not particularly sensitive. Insisting that the photos face outwards, instead of compromising with the university and letting them face inwards, so that people have a choice about whether or not to view them is problably not the most sensitive either.
And for the record, I'm not all that impressed with the university in the midst of this controversy either. (And I speak as an alumni of the school.) I do think the university should honor free speech, and I'm pleased that they offered to compromise with the students. However, engaging in a court debate over trespassing as free speech, and spending money that is primarily collected from students and alumni is perhaps not the best use of campus money. Especially by a university that has consistently raised tuition the maximum amount allowed under provincial regulations for the last several years.
U of C Charges Campus Anti-Abortion Group for Trespassing
U of C Administration Joins Campus Pro-Life on the Low Road
And finally, in news on depression/mental health, this headline caught my attention:
Antidepressants Lower Suicide Risk for Adults, Raise it for Adolescents
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
He was 21
Calgary bid farewell to the latest local soldier to be killed in the ongoing conflict in Afghanistan yesterday.
This one hit closer to home for me.
He was young, falling between my two younger brothers. And he attended the same high school that they did, in our neighborhood. I don't know if they knew him, or knew of him. It doesn't really matter all that much to me.
He was just a year older than my baby brother.
But what really catches my attention is the tattoo emblazoned across his back. The one of which countless pictures have appeared in the local media this last week. "For Those I Love I Will Sacrifice."
A life statement of sorts. A powerful one. One that challenges me. And one that becomes that much more poignant given that this young man gave his life serving his country.
This one hit closer to home for me.
He was young, falling between my two younger brothers. And he attended the same high school that they did, in our neighborhood. I don't know if they knew him, or knew of him. It doesn't really matter all that much to me.
He was just a year older than my baby brother.
But what really catches my attention is the tattoo emblazoned across his back. The one of which countless pictures have appeared in the local media this last week. "For Those I Love I Will Sacrifice."
A life statement of sorts. A powerful one. One that challenges me. And one that becomes that much more poignant given that this young man gave his life serving his country.
Monday, March 10, 2008
Iraq and a dream about Jesus
I don't know exactly how I feel about the war in Iraq, and I'm not planning to try and resolve that question anytime soon. However, I was completely caught by this blog post Shane Claiborne wrote for the Sojourner's blog.
Somehow, I think I've met the Jesus who would let his body be torn to shreds while shielding children like a mother hen.
This touched on some of the ideas I've been thinking about through this Lenten season... the number of things speaking to those themes grows daily, and I am amazed at the way God is reinforcing points. And at some point, I'll probably let those points begin to surface here...
Somehow, I think I've met the Jesus who would let his body be torn to shreds while shielding children like a mother hen.
This touched on some of the ideas I've been thinking about through this Lenten season... the number of things speaking to those themes grows daily, and I am amazed at the way God is reinforcing points. And at some point, I'll probably let those points begin to surface here...
Tuesday, September 11, 2007
Remembering
I woke a bit late this morning, and stumbled out of bed to Alan Jackson’s song “Where Were You When the World Stopped Turning” playing on the radio station I listen to in the mornings as I get ready for work. It took me a moment to realize why they were playing that song today. It’s 9/11 once again. Six years later, once again a Tuesday morning, and people are pausing again to remember.
I am a historian – that is, my bachelor’s degree is in history, and I have long been a lover of classes like social studies in high school, and whatever history related classes I could enroll in for university. The classic question for defining and personalizing moments in history seems to be this – where were you when….occurred? Where were you when you heard that John F. Kennedy had been killed? The classic Canadian one – where were you when Paul Henderson scored the winning goal in the 1972 series of the century? Where were you when you learned that the Challenger shuttle had exploded? People define these moments by their location when they learned of them.
September 11, 2001 has become one of those moments – not because of the aforementioned country song that asks the question “Where were you?” but because of the way the events of that day and the response to those events have shaped the following six years.
It is hard for me to believe that it has already been six years. The events of that day seem to live on in daily ways – reminders in the media each time conflict arises in the Middle East. Each time the death of a Canadian soldier in Afghanistan is reported in the news. Each time the world begins to debate the merits of the American presence in Iraq. This is an event that lives not in the past, but in the present psyche of the North American world.
In the same way that my dad can tell you where he was when Paul Henderson scored that famous goal, and my mom can tell you where she was when she learned that President Kennedy was killed, I can tell you the exact location when it hit home that a plane had flown into the World Trade Centers, and that they had collapsed.
It was my first semester of university, and I was sitting in the only 8:00 am lecture I took in the five years I spent getting my degree. It was, “Psychology 205: Introductory Psychology.” I was in a second floor classroom, poorly lit with feeble florescent bulbs. A very beige sort of place. A classmate came in and told me that a plane had flown into the World Trade Centers, and speculated that it was terrorism. I remember dismissing her concerns, automatically assuming that it was a tragic accident. Our professor entered moments later, and repeated the news, this time confirming that this was indeed an act of terrorism against the United States.
Not a particularly profound memory, I suppose. I spent the lunch hour that day like so many others, glued to the television sets that had been set up in the hallways to allow students to follow the stories. I remember feeling dazed as I moved from class to class, not quite able to absorb this thing that was happening.
I remember walking into a video rental store a few days later, when the news coverage of the rescue efforts was still going on 24 hours a day on all of the television channels, determined to rent something funny, because I was done with the grieving, and the reality, and wanted to simply escape for a little while. I remember feeling a little bit guilty for wanting to laugh in the midst of all that sadness and fear.
Six years later I’m still remembering. I’m feeling grateful for the lives of the police officers and firefighters who sacrificed themselves in the attempt to rescue others. I’m wondering at the state of unrest in the world – the constant fear of terrorism, the lack of peace. I’m feeling a bit more proud than normal of my dual American and Canadian heritage and citizenship – and also conflicted as the retaliatory American presence on the world stage clashes with the peacemaking Canadian presence. I’m thinking about the world seems less innocent the last six years – or maybe it’s simply that a tiny bit of naiveté was lifted from my eyes that Tuesday morning. I’m remembering, and grieving, and praying for peace.
I am a historian – that is, my bachelor’s degree is in history, and I have long been a lover of classes like social studies in high school, and whatever history related classes I could enroll in for university. The classic question for defining and personalizing moments in history seems to be this – where were you when….occurred? Where were you when you heard that John F. Kennedy had been killed? The classic Canadian one – where were you when Paul Henderson scored the winning goal in the 1972 series of the century? Where were you when you learned that the Challenger shuttle had exploded? People define these moments by their location when they learned of them.
September 11, 2001 has become one of those moments – not because of the aforementioned country song that asks the question “Where were you?” but because of the way the events of that day and the response to those events have shaped the following six years.
It is hard for me to believe that it has already been six years. The events of that day seem to live on in daily ways – reminders in the media each time conflict arises in the Middle East. Each time the death of a Canadian soldier in Afghanistan is reported in the news. Each time the world begins to debate the merits of the American presence in Iraq. This is an event that lives not in the past, but in the present psyche of the North American world.
In the same way that my dad can tell you where he was when Paul Henderson scored that famous goal, and my mom can tell you where she was when she learned that President Kennedy was killed, I can tell you the exact location when it hit home that a plane had flown into the World Trade Centers, and that they had collapsed.
It was my first semester of university, and I was sitting in the only 8:00 am lecture I took in the five years I spent getting my degree. It was, “Psychology 205: Introductory Psychology.” I was in a second floor classroom, poorly lit with feeble florescent bulbs. A very beige sort of place. A classmate came in and told me that a plane had flown into the World Trade Centers, and speculated that it was terrorism. I remember dismissing her concerns, automatically assuming that it was a tragic accident. Our professor entered moments later, and repeated the news, this time confirming that this was indeed an act of terrorism against the United States.
Not a particularly profound memory, I suppose. I spent the lunch hour that day like so many others, glued to the television sets that had been set up in the hallways to allow students to follow the stories. I remember feeling dazed as I moved from class to class, not quite able to absorb this thing that was happening.
I remember walking into a video rental store a few days later, when the news coverage of the rescue efforts was still going on 24 hours a day on all of the television channels, determined to rent something funny, because I was done with the grieving, and the reality, and wanted to simply escape for a little while. I remember feeling a little bit guilty for wanting to laugh in the midst of all that sadness and fear.
Six years later I’m still remembering. I’m feeling grateful for the lives of the police officers and firefighters who sacrificed themselves in the attempt to rescue others. I’m wondering at the state of unrest in the world – the constant fear of terrorism, the lack of peace. I’m feeling a bit more proud than normal of my dual American and Canadian heritage and citizenship – and also conflicted as the retaliatory American presence on the world stage clashes with the peacemaking Canadian presence. I’m thinking about the world seems less innocent the last six years – or maybe it’s simply that a tiny bit of naiveté was lifted from my eyes that Tuesday morning. I’m remembering, and grieving, and praying for peace.
Tuesday, March 13, 2007
Another article to read...
In my ongoing struggle with questions over war vs. peace and so on, I came across this article on TIME magazine this morning. Since most of you know that I also have a strong interest in mental health issues (due to my own background, and the growing awareness that various friends have brought), you won't be surprised that the findings of the article are disturbing to me. Particularly when you consider that the age group the increased rates of mental illness caused by time at war is most dramatically affecting are those who are my peers.
Anyway, give it a read and let me know what you think!
Anyway, give it a read and let me know what you think!
Wednesday, February 28, 2007
Disturbing Questions on War and Peace
I’ve been listening and reading and thinking a lot about the whole topic of peace lately. My heart has been undeniably pulled and shifted in this area over the last while, and as I listened to an activist, a Christian, a monastic tell stories and proclaim peace on my ipod on my way to work this morning, I found myself very near tears, with a growing dis-ease in my soul.
My heart is pulled to peace, but I am not sure I see a logical support for the case.
I keep hearing these arguments about Jesus as peacemaker. Was Jesus not also the one who violently cleared the temple? And yes, I know that ultimately, Jesus’ message was one of peace, even non-violence, but how can those who espouse Jesus as peacemaker also quote the Old Testament prophets, while choosing to ignore the God of the Old Testament – the God who directed his people to wipe out many nations, who aided his people in winning bloody battles through miraculous means? I would expect that the argument would have something to do with the new covenant offered in Christ, but I have difficulty with that, for God himself tells us that his character is unchanging – by this very argument the God represented by Christ is the same God of the Old Testament quest for justice.
This whole issue seems convoluted. Take Iraq for example. I don’t think I support a war there. But, I think it’s probably ultimately going to be a good thing that Hussein is gone. Take the death of Hussein – I don’t particularly think it was necessary, but at the same time see the historical precedent for eliminating a leader who has the potential to be freed from custody and regain his tyrannical power (Napoleon anyone?)? And the death penalty in general – I couldn’t do it, so is it right to support (and I don’t think I do) this thing and force someone else to make a career out of taking a life? Does it make it better if we kill someone humanely? Rather than hang them or shoot them we put them to sleep, and then inject drugs that simply stop the functions of life in their body?
What about the fact that violence seems by and large to affect the underprivileged? How do other issues of poverty and injustice play into this debate? What about Shane Claiborne’s argument that it is difficult to teach the children in the poor neighborhood in which he lives not to hit each other or use violence as a solution, when the government is sanctioning violence as a method of solving it’s problems internationally?
These are subjects that deeply disturb me. They disturb my confidence in knowledge. They upset my stomach and my heart. If you’re a friend – watch out – I may be coming your way to have conversations around this subject in the near future – it’s time to begin to verbally process some of these ideas.
I invite you to dialogue here with me, too. Leave a comment. Email me, or give me a call. I suspect this is a subject that requires the wisdom of many.
My heart is pulled to peace, but I am not sure I see a logical support for the case.
I keep hearing these arguments about Jesus as peacemaker. Was Jesus not also the one who violently cleared the temple? And yes, I know that ultimately, Jesus’ message was one of peace, even non-violence, but how can those who espouse Jesus as peacemaker also quote the Old Testament prophets, while choosing to ignore the God of the Old Testament – the God who directed his people to wipe out many nations, who aided his people in winning bloody battles through miraculous means? I would expect that the argument would have something to do with the new covenant offered in Christ, but I have difficulty with that, for God himself tells us that his character is unchanging – by this very argument the God represented by Christ is the same God of the Old Testament quest for justice.
This whole issue seems convoluted. Take Iraq for example. I don’t think I support a war there. But, I think it’s probably ultimately going to be a good thing that Hussein is gone. Take the death of Hussein – I don’t particularly think it was necessary, but at the same time see the historical precedent for eliminating a leader who has the potential to be freed from custody and regain his tyrannical power (Napoleon anyone?)? And the death penalty in general – I couldn’t do it, so is it right to support (and I don’t think I do) this thing and force someone else to make a career out of taking a life? Does it make it better if we kill someone humanely? Rather than hang them or shoot them we put them to sleep, and then inject drugs that simply stop the functions of life in their body?
What about the fact that violence seems by and large to affect the underprivileged? How do other issues of poverty and injustice play into this debate? What about Shane Claiborne’s argument that it is difficult to teach the children in the poor neighborhood in which he lives not to hit each other or use violence as a solution, when the government is sanctioning violence as a method of solving it’s problems internationally?
These are subjects that deeply disturb me. They disturb my confidence in knowledge. They upset my stomach and my heart. If you’re a friend – watch out – I may be coming your way to have conversations around this subject in the near future – it’s time to begin to verbally process some of these ideas.
I invite you to dialogue here with me, too. Leave a comment. Email me, or give me a call. I suspect this is a subject that requires the wisdom of many.
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