20030418
Ron Sider says,
For months, debate has raged in government circles about whether to extend the war against terrorism to Iraq, Somalia, Sudan, the Philippines, Yemen - using military power to rid these countries of terrorist elements.
We can do so if we choose. We are so overwhelmingly superior militarily that for the next couple of decades, we can do pretty much what we please. But behind the intense debate about whether to invade Iraq, etc., lies a crucial question: What kind of world does America want to use its power to promote?
There are two options. We can use our power unilaterally to promote the shorter-term economic and political self-interest of America (always, of course, with a veneer of moral appeal to freedom, justice and democracy for all). Or we can seek genuinely to implement the moral principles we claim to embrace and take the lead in creating a better world for all.
For months, debate has raged in government circles about whether to extend the war against terrorism to Iraq, Somalia, Sudan, the Philippines, Yemen - using military power to rid these countries of terrorist elements.
We can do so if we choose. We are so overwhelmingly superior militarily that for the next couple of decades, we can do pretty much what we please. But behind the intense debate about whether to invade Iraq, etc., lies a crucial question: What kind of world does America want to use its power to promote?
There are two options. We can use our power unilaterally to promote the shorter-term economic and political self-interest of America (always, of course, with a veneer of moral appeal to freedom, justice and democracy for all). Or we can seek genuinely to implement the moral principles we claim to embrace and take the lead in creating a better world for all.
"If the weapons are not identified and found then I think people will start to ask very, very serious questions about what the war was really all about," Richard Butler, former head of UN weapons inspections in Iraq said.
Hans Blix, Butler's successor who pulled his team out of Iraq before the US-led invasion, said his inspectors could be back in Iraq within two weeks. The US has said it prefers to do the job itself.
Does anyone see a conflict of interest there??
Hans Blix, Butler's successor who pulled his team out of Iraq before the US-led invasion, said his inspectors could be back in Iraq within two weeks. The US has said it prefers to do the job itself.
Does anyone see a conflict of interest there??
20030414
Look up the names of all the great men
And if you can't find mine then look it up again
I know it's in there under the tried and the failed...
(from Away by Greg Macpherson)
... ever have a day like that?
And if you can't find mine then look it up again
I know it's in there under the tried and the failed...
(from Away by Greg Macpherson)
... ever have a day like that?
20030411
And the discussion that comes out of that article is also thought-provoking. One commenter says:
If the peacemakers had persistently marched on Baghdad months ago - demanding the end of Saddam's government (rather than the end of the Bush administration) - I would see them as a true force for peace. As it is I often see them as a part of the isolationist left that is antiwar regardless of the ongoing abuses of Saddam.
and Hartung responds:
I totally agree that pacifists should not be passive when there is opportunity to free people from oppression. However, I am not sure on the particulars or how far they should go. Marching peacefully on Baghdad sounds more like suicide than peaceful intervention to me. The martyrs did not march on Rome, but they did not resist when the oppressive regime sentenced them to death for their beliefs.
If the peacemakers had persistently marched on Baghdad months ago - demanding the end of Saddam's government (rather than the end of the Bush administration) - I would see them as a true force for peace. As it is I often see them as a part of the isolationist left that is antiwar regardless of the ongoing abuses of Saddam.
and Hartung responds:
I totally agree that pacifists should not be passive when there is opportunity to free people from oppression. However, I am not sure on the particulars or how far they should go. Marching peacefully on Baghdad sounds more like suicide than peaceful intervention to me. The martyrs did not march on Rome, but they did not resist when the oppressive regime sentenced them to death for their beliefs.
A close friend of mine claimed that if my beliefs were followed we would inevitably be controlled by an evil dictator. While I cannot deny that as a possible result of my pacifism, I must say it is not the only conclusion possible. Is it too far of a stretch to imagine that displays of God's grace even in the face of losing rights or even death just may cause a turn of events in and of itself? Do we have such little trust in God's sovereignty that we cannot trust what He says is the right way to live?
Jordon points to a great article at the Ooze.
Jordon points to a great article at the Ooze.
20030410
Wal-Mart rejects racy worship CD
ANAHEIM � The latest Vineyard Music worship CD, "Intimacy, vol. 2," has raced to the top of the Christian sales charts, but Wal-Mart is refusing to stock the album without slapping on a parental warning sticker.
ANAHEIM � The latest Vineyard Music worship CD, "Intimacy, vol. 2," has raced to the top of the Christian sales charts, but Wal-Mart is refusing to stock the album without slapping on a parental warning sticker.
From Arun Gandhi, grandson of Mohandas Gandhi (taken from introduction to 411)-
"While the world has suffered acts of terrorism for many decades, we discovered the evils of terrorism on September 11, 2001. And now we are so incensed by this act of arrogance that we are willing to destroy all those who oppose us. Grandfather said anger is like electricity-- very useful if treated with respect, but very devastating when abused. Imagine if the rest of the world reacted to terrorism the way we have; this world would have been destroyed centuries ago.
"How then should we deal with terrorism? After September 11, we should have done some honest soul-searching to find out why so many people in the world hate us so much. Waging a war on terrorism and threatening the world with dire consequences if they did not support us is a reaction that is fraught with arrogance and designed to make more enemies than friends. We may not care what the world thinks right now but imagine what life would be like if we were far too scared to travel. Then try to imagine where we would be if half the world was destroyed.
"Life is not simply about how many millions of dollars one has accumulated or how rich a nation is. It is about friends and relations. Are we loved by people or despised? Do we have true friends or only those who want to bleed us? Does the world respect us for the love, respect and compassion that we project or because we are a super power with the capacity to blow the earth to pieces? The difference between the two is obvious. No one likes a bully."
via David Hopkins
"While the world has suffered acts of terrorism for many decades, we discovered the evils of terrorism on September 11, 2001. And now we are so incensed by this act of arrogance that we are willing to destroy all those who oppose us. Grandfather said anger is like electricity-- very useful if treated with respect, but very devastating when abused. Imagine if the rest of the world reacted to terrorism the way we have; this world would have been destroyed centuries ago.
"How then should we deal with terrorism? After September 11, we should have done some honest soul-searching to find out why so many people in the world hate us so much. Waging a war on terrorism and threatening the world with dire consequences if they did not support us is a reaction that is fraught with arrogance and designed to make more enemies than friends. We may not care what the world thinks right now but imagine what life would be like if we were far too scared to travel. Then try to imagine where we would be if half the world was destroyed.
"Life is not simply about how many millions of dollars one has accumulated or how rich a nation is. It is about friends and relations. Are we loved by people or despised? Do we have true friends or only those who want to bleed us? Does the world respect us for the love, respect and compassion that we project or because we are a super power with the capacity to blow the earth to pieces? The difference between the two is obvious. No one likes a bully."
via David Hopkins
20030409
I've been absent for a while due to a hard drive crash. But everything is reinstalled now, so I will try to find something to say. We have been doing a lot with music and that is acuseing a dilemma for me in trying to figure out what to so with this page. See, the band name is Fatblueman, and we need a webpage but as it is, type that into a search engine and it all points here. So I am thinking that sometime in the future, this page will be replaced by the band site, and I will put a blog page on the band website.
Working on it.
Working on it.
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