Answering the Call - War Bulletin 6-27-2004
Answering the Call
Deep within our being there is a desire to love and respect our president. We want to be proud of his every action and spoken word. We listen to his speeches, earnestly searching for phrases and statements that inspire us to cheer, or possibly to shed a tear. Surely there will be a thought expressed that will become a turning point in history, that will inspire statesmen around the world to seek peaceful solutions to the bothersome differences with their neighbors. How proud we would be to hear him say that our nation will take the lead in destroying all Weapons of Mass Destruction, including those in our own arsenal, providing other nations would do the same, and pledging to refrain from research or development programs relating to such weapons.
We were happy to hear President Bush proclaim, “Freedom is the Almighty’s gift to every man and woman in this world. And as the greatest power on the face of the Earth, we have an obligation to help the spread of freedom. That is what we have been called to do, as far as I am concerned.” There it is. A great declaration of principle and an expression of determination to bring the blessings of freedom to every person. It might well serve as the war cry of a New Crusade to bring a fresh program of peace and justice for all people.
Careful. Mr. Bush did not say we had a call to “bring freedom”, but to “help the spread of freedom” to all of the people in the world. This still would be a huge project for our country and worthy of being called a Crusade. In the past we have gone to war to “Make the world safe for Democracy” and we led the world in the establishment of the United Nations to keep peace in the world, but the leaders involved in those projects did not express their goals as being an answer to a “call” from the Almighty.
The fact that President Bush announced the “call” in connection with the prosecution of the war in Iraq makes it appear to be related to that war. Later statements indicate that Mr. Bush is searching for a way to convince us that the war in Iraq is a worldwide effort to rid the world of all elements of terrorism. Enlarging the scope of the war to this extent should make it easier to recruit more nations into the “Coalition of the Willing”. Also, this should make it easy to include an objective of installing a spirit of freedom and justice for all people.
This enlargement to include worldwide freedom and justice almost justifies elevating the cause to the status of a holy war, a Crusade. It might take on the role of the “Call” referred to in Mr. Bush’s speech. However inspiring this mission might be, there is a big stumbling block that would have to be removed before it could be considered seriously. We still have the dumpster packed full of falsehoods, improperly applied facts and ignored or altered intelligence data that can’t simply be dumped into a landfill. It would be difficult to generate support for a “freedom crusade” if the crusade were associated with questionable actions and motives of our nation and its leaders.
The idea of freedom is usually associated with tolerance, love and justice. To win support for any crusade to promote the spread of freedom it would be essential that we demonstrate that we have a clear understanding of what constitutes freedom and that we practice it in our country and in our relations with other nations.
Given our recent treatment of detainees and war prisoners, we might find it difficult to convince others that we are sincerely dedicated to the idea granting freedom and justice to all people in the world.
The circumstances force us to consider some of the basics of a “Call”. First, a person feeling that he has a call must examine his abilities and his heart, and honestly consider whether he has the qualifications to perform the task involved. This brings to light the wrongs he may have committed and the shortcomings of character or ability he may have, and demands that he act to correct them and resolve in his heart that they shall not be repeated. Only then is one qualified to dedicate himself to waiting and listening for a confirmation of the call. Usually a genuine ‘call’ comes into one’s mind and heart as a persistent urge, a feeling one cannot exclude from his mind. It appears to be a serious duty which cannot be shifted to a friend or relative. If the feeling that one has a ‘call’ and it goes away one may be sure that it wasn’t a ‘call’ at all, or he was not the right person to accept it.
Persons considering calls to religious positions often refer to Biblical records of calls to Moses, Joshua, Gideon and Samuel as a means of assessing the reality of a call. We have not heard from Mr. Bush how carefully he has judged his call to engage the United States in this Freedom Crusade.
This matter is much too serious for this writer to attempt to judge the genuineness of the call or to judge Mr. Bush’s ability to fulfill its purpose. However, given President Bush’s manner of committing so many lives and resources to the war in Iraq, the people of the United States would be prudent and fully justified in demanding that the president be honest and straightforward in the discussion of any ‘call’ he may receive which involves any commitment by or on behalf of the American people.
Jerry
Deep within our being there is a desire to love and respect our president. We want to be proud of his every action and spoken word. We listen to his speeches, earnestly searching for phrases and statements that inspire us to cheer, or possibly to shed a tear. Surely there will be a thought expressed that will become a turning point in history, that will inspire statesmen around the world to seek peaceful solutions to the bothersome differences with their neighbors. How proud we would be to hear him say that our nation will take the lead in destroying all Weapons of Mass Destruction, including those in our own arsenal, providing other nations would do the same, and pledging to refrain from research or development programs relating to such weapons.
We were happy to hear President Bush proclaim, “Freedom is the Almighty’s gift to every man and woman in this world. And as the greatest power on the face of the Earth, we have an obligation to help the spread of freedom. That is what we have been called to do, as far as I am concerned.” There it is. A great declaration of principle and an expression of determination to bring the blessings of freedom to every person. It might well serve as the war cry of a New Crusade to bring a fresh program of peace and justice for all people.
Careful. Mr. Bush did not say we had a call to “bring freedom”, but to “help the spread of freedom” to all of the people in the world. This still would be a huge project for our country and worthy of being called a Crusade. In the past we have gone to war to “Make the world safe for Democracy” and we led the world in the establishment of the United Nations to keep peace in the world, but the leaders involved in those projects did not express their goals as being an answer to a “call” from the Almighty.
The fact that President Bush announced the “call” in connection with the prosecution of the war in Iraq makes it appear to be related to that war. Later statements indicate that Mr. Bush is searching for a way to convince us that the war in Iraq is a worldwide effort to rid the world of all elements of terrorism. Enlarging the scope of the war to this extent should make it easier to recruit more nations into the “Coalition of the Willing”. Also, this should make it easy to include an objective of installing a spirit of freedom and justice for all people.
This enlargement to include worldwide freedom and justice almost justifies elevating the cause to the status of a holy war, a Crusade. It might take on the role of the “Call” referred to in Mr. Bush’s speech. However inspiring this mission might be, there is a big stumbling block that would have to be removed before it could be considered seriously. We still have the dumpster packed full of falsehoods, improperly applied facts and ignored or altered intelligence data that can’t simply be dumped into a landfill. It would be difficult to generate support for a “freedom crusade” if the crusade were associated with questionable actions and motives of our nation and its leaders.
The idea of freedom is usually associated with tolerance, love and justice. To win support for any crusade to promote the spread of freedom it would be essential that we demonstrate that we have a clear understanding of what constitutes freedom and that we practice it in our country and in our relations with other nations.
Given our recent treatment of detainees and war prisoners, we might find it difficult to convince others that we are sincerely dedicated to the idea granting freedom and justice to all people in the world.
The circumstances force us to consider some of the basics of a “Call”. First, a person feeling that he has a call must examine his abilities and his heart, and honestly consider whether he has the qualifications to perform the task involved. This brings to light the wrongs he may have committed and the shortcomings of character or ability he may have, and demands that he act to correct them and resolve in his heart that they shall not be repeated. Only then is one qualified to dedicate himself to waiting and listening for a confirmation of the call. Usually a genuine ‘call’ comes into one’s mind and heart as a persistent urge, a feeling one cannot exclude from his mind. It appears to be a serious duty which cannot be shifted to a friend or relative. If the feeling that one has a ‘call’ and it goes away one may be sure that it wasn’t a ‘call’ at all, or he was not the right person to accept it.
Persons considering calls to religious positions often refer to Biblical records of calls to Moses, Joshua, Gideon and Samuel as a means of assessing the reality of a call. We have not heard from Mr. Bush how carefully he has judged his call to engage the United States in this Freedom Crusade.
This matter is much too serious for this writer to attempt to judge the genuineness of the call or to judge Mr. Bush’s ability to fulfill its purpose. However, given President Bush’s manner of committing so many lives and resources to the war in Iraq, the people of the United States would be prudent and fully justified in demanding that the president be honest and straightforward in the discussion of any ‘call’ he may receive which involves any commitment by or on behalf of the American people.
Jerry
posted by Jeremiah | 9:57 PM
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