Shades of Meaning

Thoughts

In church I have heard people praying for their loved ones who are soldiers fighting in Iraq and other places.  I wholeheartedly agree with this, since we want our loved ones not to die on some battlefield but to come back to our homes and lives.  In this age of political correctness, I wonder about some of the prayers I hear.  Oh Lord, protect (insert name here).  Keep them safe from harm for Your eye is on the sparrow and so much more we know You are watching over (insert name here).  In Jesus' name, amen.  This is a shortened form of a lot of prayers in these troubling times.  But in my darker moments, I sometimes wonder if we know what we are really asking for.  Most people who pray assume God is going to work in the physical and not in some miraculous way.  So really, if I am interpreting right, this is what people are really praying for:  Dear Lord, protect (insert name here) from our enemies.  May he (or she) be able to shoot straight and put all his (or her) 5.56 mm rounds square in the chest of those who oppose us.  May they die screaming for the wrongs they have done against us and our country.  For we care not about their loved ones who too shall miss them.  We come first, for Thine is the kingdom, the power and the glory, forever and ever, amen.  Maybe if you're reading this, you're thinking that this is not the same thing, that the two prayers are distinctly different.  I would disagree.  Let me restate here, I have no problem with someone fighting to defend what they think is right.  My problem comes with the idea that, from the people I have talked to, people want to put a pleasant face on war.  War is not pleasant, politically correct, evangelical, Republican activity.  If we have come to the point of deciding to end someone else's life, as Christians, I think we should think it all the way down the rabbit hole before we jump on the jingo-istic bandwagon. 

To those who fight on the front lines, we seem to think in the following terms:  they are serving their country, defending freedom, defending our right to uphold the American way.  All these things might be correct, but before all these things, stands one central truth:  these young men and women are death dealers.  We, the government, Rush Limbaugh and everyone else have placed them into harm's way.  I wonder how many of us ever ask them what they do in combat.  In this age where we talk everything out to understand each other's feelings and perspective, how many of us have sat down with a soldier and asked them what it was like when he slit that guy's throat or shot that person.  I mean, we ask everyone else about what they do.  So, Uncle Frank, you are a pilot.  What's that like?  Grandad, what was it like for you growing up on a farm?  All the soldiers I have met, probably less than 20, never seem to want to talk about combat.  I mean, if it were just defending freedom, what's the big deal?  I think we cheapen what these brave people do by using such cliche phrases as "defending freedom" and "serving their country."  If you disagree with me, find a soldier who has been in combat.  Look him or her in the eye and ask them, and I think you will get a different perspective on the price they have paid for your freedom.

Ponderings

I'm not big on emotions.  They're pesky things, really.  Now really, what is an emotion?  I feel happy, I feel sad.  Maybe I am a neanderthal, but in this day and age, we seem to be more wrapped up in how we feel than how we think and behave.  My argument here is that emotions aren't all that important.  If you were on a train and someone mashed your toe, there would be a flood of emotions:  pain, anger, maybe resentment.  If said stranger gave you a million dollars at the same time, there would be exhileration and happiness.  The toe now seems to be a most unimportant thing.  So how can something so mercurial be real, of any substance?  How can something so fleeting dictate our behavior.  I mean, when we go to the doctor, does he have to be in a good mood?  Must he be personable and friendly?  If you are fighting with a serious disease, who would you rather have?  Mr. Personality, or Mr. Coldhearted Bastard but excellent surgeon.  If you have heart disease, do you still want McDreamy because he's McDreamy, even though he's a neurosurgeon?  Emotions are fickle things.  What do you really want?  Do we really need emotions?  Some of them are okay.  But how about the bad ones?  You know, fear, anger, resentment, outright bloody terror.  We as human beings seem to forget that all this feeling is not limited to the "good feelings."  I hope this little discourse has made some of us think about emotions.  Let's not forget that most things in life we feel, not all of them are pleasant, so maybe I have a few converts out there who are starting to think that emotions can be a bit of a bother.  Or maybe I'm just nuts.