Deal With It
They Died in Vain
"Many of those preaching at American church services Sunday extolled as "heroes" the 30 American and 8 Afghan troops killed Saturday west of Kabul, when a helicopter on a night mission crashed, apparently after taking fire from Taliban forces. This week, the Fawning Corporate Media (FCM) can be expected to beat a steady drumbeat of "they shall not have died in vain."
But they did. I know it is a hard truth, but they did die in vain.
As in the past, churches across the country will keep praising the fallen troops for protecting "our way of life," and few can demur, given the tragic circumstances.
But, sadly, such accolades are, at best, misguided — at worst, dishonest. Most preachers do not have a clue as to what U.S. forces are doing in Afghanistan and why. Many prefer not to think about it. There are some who do know better, but virtually all in that category eventually opt to punt.
Should we fault the preachers as they reach for words designed to give comfort to those in their congregations mourning the deaths of so many young troops? As hard as it might seem, I believe we can do no other than fault — and confront — them. However well meaning their intentions, their negligence and timidity in confronting basic war issues merely help to perpetuate unnecessary killing. It is high time to hold preachers accountable.
Many preachers are alert and open enough to see through the propaganda for perpetual war. But most will not take the risk of offending their flock with unpalatable truth. Better not to risk protests from the super-patriots — many of them with deep pockets — in the pews. And better to avoid, at all costs, offending the loved ones of those who have been killed — loved ones who can hardly be faulted for trying desperately to find some meaning in the snuffing out of young lives.
Best to Just Praise and Pray
Far better to pray for those already killed and those who in the future will "give the last full measure of devotion to our country." In sum, by and large, American preachers are afraid to tell the truth. They lack the virtue that Thomas Aquinas taught is the foundation of all virtue — courage. Aquinas wrote (to translate into the vernacular) that all other virtue is specious if you have no guts.
Writer James Hollingsworth hit the nail on the head: "Courage is not the absence of fear, but rather the judgment that something else is more important than fear." Like the truth."
My grandson was sent to Afghanistan and we didn't hear from him in a while. By the time he came back he was so traumatized he has to go to therapy.
Just like so many other high profile stories from these disgusting wars this latest helicopter downing has gone through so many iterations that the truth is pretty elusive. One thing the manipulators really hate is when they have to explain away a huge loss. The acceptable death rate is one or two a day. That's why we almost never hear of larger losses like the disaster at Camp Falcon five years ago. Acknowledging that any brown skinned group that empire happens to be fighting actually scored some success is very rare, and only happens when the corrupt MSM is forced to disseminate the truth because too many people already know the facts. As soon as this Chinook downing happened the spinmeisters went into overtime turning empire's trained killers into saints on a mercy mission, and we're force fed the names, background and grieving family members' reactions, unlike those brown skinned wogs, who as they die by the thousands, remain anonymous statistics.
"Many of those preaching at American church services Sunday extolled as "heroes" the 30 American and 8 Afghan troops killed Saturday west of Kabul, when a helicopter on a night mission crashed, apparently after taking fire from Taliban forces. This week, the Fawning Corporate Media (FCM) can be expected to beat a steady drumbeat of "they shall not have died in vain."
But they did. I know it is a hard truth, but they did die in vain.
As in the past, churches across the country will keep praising the fallen troops for protecting "our way of life," and few can demur, given the tragic circumstances.
But, sadly, such accolades are, at best, misguided — at worst, dishonest. Most preachers do not have a clue as to what U.S. forces are doing in Afghanistan and why. Many prefer not to think about it. There are some who do know better, but virtually all in that category eventually opt to punt.
Should we fault the preachers as they reach for words designed to give comfort to those in their congregations mourning the deaths of so many young troops? As hard as it might seem, I believe we can do no other than fault — and confront — them. However well meaning their intentions, their negligence and timidity in confronting basic war issues merely help to perpetuate unnecessary killing. It is high time to hold preachers accountable.
Many preachers are alert and open enough to see through the propaganda for perpetual war. But most will not take the risk of offending their flock with unpalatable truth. Better not to risk protests from the super-patriots — many of them with deep pockets — in the pews. And better to avoid, at all costs, offending the loved ones of those who have been killed — loved ones who can hardly be faulted for trying desperately to find some meaning in the snuffing out of young lives.
Best to Just Praise and Pray
Far better to pray for those already killed and those who in the future will "give the last full measure of devotion to our country." In sum, by and large, American preachers are afraid to tell the truth. They lack the virtue that Thomas Aquinas taught is the foundation of all virtue — courage. Aquinas wrote (to translate into the vernacular) that all other virtue is specious if you have no guts.
Writer James Hollingsworth hit the nail on the head: "Courage is not the absence of fear, but rather the judgment that something else is more important than fear." Like the truth."
My grandson was sent to Afghanistan and we didn't hear from him in a while. By the time he came back he was so traumatized he has to go to therapy.
Just like so many other high profile stories from these disgusting wars this latest helicopter downing has gone through so many iterations that the truth is pretty elusive. One thing the manipulators really hate is when they have to explain away a huge loss. The acceptable death rate is one or two a day. That's why we almost never hear of larger losses like the disaster at Camp Falcon five years ago. Acknowledging that any brown skinned group that empire happens to be fighting actually scored some success is very rare, and only happens when the corrupt MSM is forced to disseminate the truth because too many people already know the facts. As soon as this Chinook downing happened the spinmeisters went into overtime turning empire's trained killers into saints on a mercy mission, and we're force fed the names, background and grieving family members' reactions, unlike those brown skinned wogs, who as they die by the thousands, remain anonymous statistics.
posted by nolocontendere at 2:40 PM
1 Comments:
Yes, shortly after the Iraq war began in 2003, several small churches with money-problems were shut down after they began giving antiwar sermons. The RCC was unusually cooperative with the imperial fascists in quietly condemning the antiwar people behind them.
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