War . . . What Is It Good For? (Part 2)

By Karen J. Diefendorf

 

CLICK HERE TO READ PART 1 OF THIS ARTICLE

 

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In part one of my article, published in last week”s issue, I outlined the church”s traditional criteria for deciding if it is moral for a nation to go to war (ius ad bellum) and how to conduct oneself during a war (ius in bello). I asserted Christians have a tradition by which we can determine when and how we should enter the political debate, and I implied that choosing not to enter that debate has deeply moral implications.

Most of our Stone-Campbell Movement congregations support our nation”s wars and warriors. But are there factors in our culture that set us on a path for going to war? I would propose we have been headed for armed conflict for years. And the church has not always challenged nor confronted her people”s behaviors and attitudes to change the course. Let me explain.

Politicians rarely refer to ius ad bellum (whether going to war is just), but rather to “national interests.” It sounds so appropriate. It is a catchphrase used to legitimize our entrance into another sovereign nation. Here is another question: “Who gave us the right to have “˜national interests” in another sovereign nation, anyway?”

This begs yet another question, “Where do our national interests come from?” I am told they come from our national values””but where do our national values come from? They are to come from the Constitution.

I must say that if our national interests come from our national values, then one of our national values must be greed. Do our constitutional values of “Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness” include garnering for ourselves the raw materials of other sovereign nations? As long as our gross national product and the Dow Jones industrial average remain high, as long as gas prices stay lower than elsewhere in the world, as long as we can spend our affluence as we please, flat-screen TVs and all, I fear we will justify whatever we choose to do under the banner of “national interests.”

 

TROUBLING ISSUES

Let me hasten to say that I”m equally guilty of pursuing my own wants without always considering the implications of my lifestyle on the rest of the world. This troubles me.

For example, I have owned a Mennonite cookbook””the More-with-Less Cookbook“”for years; it encourages Christians to think about the global implications of consuming meat as our primary source of protein when there are so many grain sources. I have justified my consumption of meat just like all the rest of my consumerism.

Equally puzzling is the fact that our conservative churches for years abdicated the social justice movement to mainline churches. I recall walking into mainline churches and finding displays outlining the immorality of Nestlé dumping outdated baby formula into Third World countries. Those churches brought Nestlé and its subsidiaries to their knees.

Why do Americans have the highest living standards in the world, but seem insatiable? We want more and think we are entitled to it.

On the other hand, it is clear in today”s financial crisis that we are no longer a local economy, but a world economy. If the U.S. markets don”t grow, then other nations don”t grow. This isn”t as simple as I”d like to think; I am not an economist, so I will defer to them for all the implications, but I think I am safe in saying this: There is no such thing as going to war with a pure motive; our motives are always mixed. It is as much about the oil as it is about the atrocities. Both matter. But why should a commodity have equal weight with a human life? What happened to our Christian theology that we wouldn”t immediately recognize the problem with that?

Obviously, even Christians are susceptible. As soon as we marry patriotism and nationalism”””My country right or wrong”””we begin to give up our discernment and ultimately our voices. Pretty soon whatever we want seems justifiable.

 

THE CHURCH”S RESPONSE

So, where does the church fit in all of this?

“¢ The church must not abdicate her voice.

“¢ The church must remind herself that no political party is the moral party.

“¢ Church members should write, call, and e-mail their elected representatives (and understand that soldiers give up most of their rights to do these things in order not to appear insubordinant).

“¢ The church must call her people to do critical analysis and think through the second- and third-order effects of what we see and hear. We can”t afford to avoid these issues.

For example, When the Abu Ghraib Prison abuse story broke and leaders at the top weren”t fired, did you bother to voice””and send””your concerns? When the Army”s surgeon general reported that the mental health of soldiers would be better with shorter, though more frequent, tours, did you notice or care that the very next day, the secretary of defense extended their tours from 12 to 15 months?

When all of us are not willing to bear the burden, then we must understand that the costs fall on the few.

We get depressed just listening to the gloomy news, and sometimes don”t bother to put all the pieces of information together to see the big picture. We feel helpless and confused and let others make the decisions for us.

 

ACTIONS FOR CHRISTIANS

What can you do?

“¢ Pray for your troops, but put that prayer on paper“”demand answers from your congressional representative.

“¢ Don”t believe everything you read or hear in the media. Demand that the media not violate your First Amendment rights with their paternalism toward you, screening what they do not want you to know.

“¢ Get involved. Citizenry isn”t for wimps. A democracy only works so long as people are willing to debate the issues and not the peripheries. We live in a climate and culture that loves its privacy; “not my problem” is our mantra. It isn”t as private out there as we think, and pulling our curtains closed won”t make it so.

“¢ Understand the moral consequences of issues like pulling out troops once they are already in a country. Are there no moral implications for leaving the defenseless once we have made them that way?

Yes, these are complex issues, but I do have hope. One church recently offered a discussion class that wrestled with tough issues like these””and people showed up! The preacher preached on these tough topics. Good for them. Good for all of us if we can learn from them.

The morality of war begins right here, right now.

Remember 1973 and the fuel shortage? Gas that was 22 cents per gallon went up to 76 cents and then to $1. Congress got in bed with the Big Three automakers and their lobbyists. Little guys doing alternate fuel research couldn”t get Congress to pass legislation that helped them. The Big Three said, “We”ll do it” and they bought out small companies. And this happened with all of us watching and not many of us protesting.

Congress chose a short-term solution with long-term consequences. Wittingly or unwittingly, they made a decision to send our sons and daughters, our grandchildren to war down the road for a commodity that impacts our economy, our “national interest.” It isn”t how many miles to the gallon, it is, literally, how much blood for our luxury?

I believe it is honorable to serve one”s country in the military, and that it is not immoral to wage war when the criteria are weighed and adhered to. But in our nation, when soldiers give up their ability to protest individual conflicts, they are solely dependent on informed citizens to help our nation weigh the implications, costs, and the greater underlying reasons. As the church body, are we willing to call our members to change our lifestyles so succeeding generations will not have to fight and die for peripherals but truly for the love of a neighbor?

Who is my neighbor? It was easier when you and I knew less about the world; the answer used to be those nearest to us. Who is my neighbor now? Now we must have a global answer. “Who is my neighbor” isn”t as simple as our Good Samaritan Sunday school lessons of childhood.

But all of us have one thing in common with the man who asked Jesus that question. Luke 10:29 begins, “But he wanted to justify himself . . .” Perhaps the question is not so hard; perhaps it is just our own discomfort that makes it so.

Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, and mind and your neighbor as yourself (see Luke 10:27).

 

 

Karen J. Diefendorf is academic dean at Lincoln (Illinois) Christian College. She served 20 years on active duty as a chaplain in the U.S. Army, retiring as a lieutenant colonel.