Monday, May 28, 2012

Reflections on Memorial Day


I have, in the past, had ambiguous feelings about Memorial Day. I see the need to have the ceremonies and fly the flag.  I have memories of those who lost loved ones in wars.  One particularly poignant memory has stayed with me through the years.  My mother got a call one day from some very good friends whose son was a helicopter pilot in Vietnam – one of those guys who would drop down into the jungle to pick up troops needing a way out.  He was scheduled to come home in two weeks, but instead of coming home to celebrate with his parents, he was coming home in a casket to be buried by them.  He was the light of their lives, their first born son.  The family of this young man was proud of him for his service, but so, so devastated by his loss. I still remember the tears in my mother’s eyes as she took the call and learned that the young man that she had babysat and watched grow up had been killed in action.  So while I understood the proud, patriotic displays on Memorial Day, I was also deeply troubled by the fact that we sent such young men (and now women) to war.

I have been what you might call a wannabe pacifist.  I say a “wannabe” because I think being a true pacifist requires an attitude that I just never had.  I resonate with much of the pacifists’ views.  Pacifists hold on to the world view that God's kingdom requires them to be peacemakers.  But even more than that, they trust that God will bring about that kingdom.  They argue that inactivity is a sign of deep faith in the ability of God to work.   Pacifists do not run away from evil; they are not those who run to Canada to escape the draft while living off of Daddy's money.  They are people who use the weapons of the Spirit to combat evil:  prayer, fasting, voluntary poverty, refusing to return evil for evil.  Pacifists know that they will not always be effective; that evil will sometimes (maybe even most times) strike them down.  But they are willing to be struck down for the same reason that Christ was willing to go to the cross: because they believe that love is the ultimate victory and Christ is the ultimate victor.  

I am only a wannabe pacifist because while I might just possibly be able to allow myself to be struck down, I am definitely not willing to see those I love suffer if I have the chance to do something about it.  I will use the weapons of the Spirit to combat evil, but in this broken world I can’t see any way around  using weapons of the world. Unless we as Christians are willing to stand in front of the aggressors and die en masse for what we believe, fighting evil with physical means seems the only option. 

Even in my wannabe pacifist days, I began to listen to those who had served in the military. And from years of listening, I have learned something about those who serve. For the most part, they are not in the service because they love war.  They do hope to gain benefits like training, education, leadership skills, etc. But for the most part those who serve in our armed forces are just as interested in peace as I am.   In fact, most of those I have listened to and talked with are in the military because they believe that their service will make the world safer, more peaceful and less chaotic.  Despite things like the My Lai massacre and the Abu-Ghraib torture, most of the folks that I have talked to saw their “enemies” as human beings, and grieved over the situation that led to war.  

So on this Memorial Day, I will remember those who gave their lives so that others could live.  I will honor their memory and fly that flag.  I still hate war and I am very glad that The United Methodist Church works for peace.  But I have to honor our warriors, because, I think in their own way, they are working to be peacemakers as well. 

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