the scriptorium

Friday, March 21, 2003

Well, it appears that we are at war. I am somewhat torn on this issue--most of the people with whom I "hang out" online seem to be opposed to this action, and the part of me that desperately wants to be liked keeps saying, "Tell everyone you're against the war, too!" Well, I am against war, as a concept--I believe that violence must always be a last resort. However, I cannot muster the indifference that I would need to be against this war (not to say that those who are against this war are necessarily indifferent--we just have very different value systems, each of us, and approach things from different angles to come to our conclusions). I have to think back in history, to the Revolutionary War when France kicked in to help us oust England and to WWII when we kicked in to help Europe oust Hitler. Both times the "kicking-in" country was motivated, at least to a good degree, by a desire to help overcome injustice in the world, because they knew that "there but for the grace of God go I." I believe that this attitude is to a great degree behind GWB's and Congress' decision to go to war with Iraq. I have seen so many arguments against this war that it would take forever to address each one individually, as I would like. So I will only state the reasons I believe this war is just. I believe we are in a "last resort" situation. We have (the UN, I mean) tried for 12 years to get Saddam Hussein to live up to the terms of surrender from the last Gulf War. At that time, he was to disarm immediately and prove that he had done so, because he has proven that he cannot be trusted to only use those weapons defensively. Up to this point, Hussein has still to comply with the contract he himself signed 12 years ago. He has, in fact, thrown international diplomacy into face of the world community by stating that he has no intention of ever complying with that document. Amnesty International provides an extensive list of human rights violations occurring at the hands of Hussein. Those who say that innocents will die in this war may be right--but they also need to realize that they are already dying at Hussein's hand and will continue to die horrible deaths unless something definitive is done to stop it. It's like having the water running in the sink. You see that enough water has run out of the tap and decide to turn it off. From the moment your brain makes that decision until your hand finishes turning the knob, a bit more water flows out, but not nearly as much as if you said, "There really is too much water coming out of that tap, but I'm not a plumber, so I guess I'll just leave it alone." Please understand that I have great sympathy for the innocents in Iraq--that's why I think that this man has to be stopped. I don't want innocents to die in this war, but more to the point, I don't want them to die at all. Chad Canipe has an excellent quote in his March 18th post about why he's not a pacifist. It's worth reading, no matter your views on this situation. Here's an excerpt:

"The Bible is clear here: I am to love my neighbor as myself, in the manner needed, in a practical way, in the midst of the fallen world, at my particular point of history. This is why I am not a pacifist. Pacifism in this poor world in which we live—this lost world—means that we desert the people who need our greatest help."

Read the rest--I guarantee that, even if you don't agree, it will be interesting reading.

posted by #Debi at 6:44 AM | permalink | 0 comments