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11/12/2002 Entry: "Let's start a war"

This is not an original thought, it being sparked by a letter I read in a national newspaper today. But very few thoughts are entirely original, are they? So here it is - Let's declare a war we can win!

The people of Ethiopia are once again facing the results of a terrible drought. Up to 15 million people are at risk of starvation. Across the nations of Southern Africa, a further 15 million are in a similar plight. Drought and poverty are killers wherever they occur, and they almost always have the greatest impact on the poorest and most vulnerable.Meanwhile, the "war" on terrorism gathers momentum, and massive resources are being gathered to wage it. An unprecedented international coalition is being gathered togethered to embark on an adventure whose outcome is uncertain but which almost certainly be massively destabilising to the world. It is unlikely that this war can ever be won, as the British experience in Northern Ireland surely shows. 9-11 remains unfinished business. The defeat of the Taliban and the disappearance of Osama Bin Laden have proved insufficient to satisfy the understandable rage that the atrocity provoked. Would a war in Iraq fill this gap, or will it leave the same acheing emptiness that resulted from the desolation of the Twin Towers?So what should we do? For once, let's do something truly radical and take Jesus at his word. He said, "Love your enemies. Pray for those who persecute you. Bless those who curse you. Do good to those who hate you." Of course there are those who say this only applies to individuals not nations - but that's an assumption rather than an established fact. So let's try it Jesus' way. If the proper response to evil is goodness, let's do it. We really haven't established with clarity who "the enemy" is in the war on terrorism, but poverty, drought and hunger are enemies that we can not only see but that we can beat - if we have the will to carry the fight to them. Let's meet every act of evil and terror with an overwhelming display of compassion and kindness, every threat with open-handed generosity, every violent deed with a reciprocal act of mercy.Certainly, we should pursue and punish those individuals who commit acts of terrorism. But we will not serve the cause of God's righteousness by inflicting suffering on those who had no part in those deeds, whose crime is living in the wrong place under the wrong government.This "alternative war" would be costly in terms of personnel and money. It will take time and commitment. But it is a war we can win.

Posted by alicec @ 11/13/2002 10:37 AM CST