Memorial Day Thoughts

Memorial Day Thoughts

War is an appalling thing.  It is a terrible way to resolve differences.  While at the end of a war there may be one party or another that stands as the victor, in reality everybody loses.  Why it must exist is anybody’s guess.  I’m sure that there are psychological and sociological explanations for that behavior, but I don’t know what they are.  Jealousy perhaps?  Historians can tell us the sequence of events that have led to wars past and pundits dig deeply into the reasoning behind those wars, but one must wonder if there really is any rational explanation for that kind of horrific violence.  Why must there be an aggressor?

I’ve looked for evidence of the first war.  I’ve found it.  It happened before we were ever born.  I am not trying to make a religious statement here.  That is not my intent.  Please bear with me as I look at a Biblical text in terms of history.  “And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels, And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven.  And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him” (Revelation 12:7 - 9).  John speaks here of a time before the world was.  You may draw your own conclusions as to what that war was all about.

We are engaged in multiple terrible wars at present.  One war is here on the home front.  It is as though forces that have no common goal have joined to threaten our domestic tranquility.  On one front we have a battle that has crept up from our southern border and has spilled onto the streets and sidewalks of our cities, towns, and even our village parks.  And little is being done to stop the flow across that border.  Another battle has been brewing for quite some time and has become quite nasty in recent years.  While this battle seems directed at police, in reality it is a battle against society and is being fought by an unlikely federation of racial minorities, media, and current government officials.  Other home front wars are taking place between those who want to redefine the definition of marriage that has existed for thousands of years as well as people who want to kill unborn babies for convenience sake.  Then of course there is a battle between those who want to restrict and even repeal the Second Amendment to our Constitution.

The sad thing about all these battles is that there are so many of them that it is quite possible to have an ally on one front who is an opponent on another front.  Surely this divided house cannot stand.

The other war we fight is over seas.  It is against a terrible opponent who thinks nothing of the value of human life and is willing to sacrifice innocent lives for the purpose of meeting their objective.  Sadly, we seem paralyzed as we cannot come to agreement on how to deal with this despicable cowardly combatant.

Wars continue.

Today, however, we honor those who sacrificed, who gave their blood until there was none left to spill upon the ground.  We honor the defenders against aggression.  They are buried in Arlington Cemetery and national cemeteries throughout the United States.  They are buried in far flung cemeteries around the globe.  In some places their bones lay scattered in hidden forests or under layers of desert sand.  Where ever their bodies rest, their sacrifices must rest in our hearts and in our minds, for whatever the cause, it was noble.  It was for us.