WITHOUT HATE
Is it possible for Man to live in times of war and not to hate his enemies?
Our religious faith demands that we “love our enemies” and, I suppose, other faiths set forth a like urging. Fortunately or unfortunately there are several useful definitions of the term “love”.One such use,in particular, can be used to justify some rather cruel patterns of demonstrated “love”. The domineering Father of fictional families - and far too many in real life – is often shown as a vicious tyrant who beats his wife and children with the strap he ,normally, uses as a belt during his steadier moments. Often. As he does so while proclaiming his love for each one of them. He beats them to drive out the sin which is condemning them to endless shame and agony. He cites precedent showing how previous believers had been made to suffer before they won through to blessing untold!
Any time of War is a time when it is not at all difficult for one to learn to hate.
Right now is a special time because so many people have not yet decided to approve of the idea that the present, unusual conflicts in which we are engaged are, indeed, to be called “wars”. They do occupy a place “outside the envelope” used to contain definitions of usual warfare, but the victims – nearly four thousand of them in the Twin Towers tragedy alone. Our basic principles of life have been denied. Each, added day we spend trying to decide petty points to define “war” our men and women – whom we have placed in harm’s way are dying or being maimed.
It is a common tactic to some groups to stress this idea of urging peace above all else...including our integrity, honor and common sense. I am sure we can sustain our good concepts of good wishes to the many “peoples” led astray by their amok leaders.
Think back over the times we have been asked not to hate our enemies: "Do not let yourself hate the British during our Revolutionary War; the Native Americans, the French, the English ,England again in 1812 who actually burned our capital city. Then ,how about the pirates off of Tripoli or the members of own families during our Civil War, Mexicans on each end of it, and the Spanish as a new century of fears came to be. Then, "Kaiser Bill's" Germany and Hitler's tragic re-run of the whole mess, aided and abetted by Russian, Slavs and others by names out of the of the Balkan Mountain area and the Japanese on the other side of the Pacific rim. That's a pretty long list, for a bare four hundred years. It could be even longer by including those little wars Panama, Granada, Whiskey, and a few familial set-taos in the Appalachians and other areas from time to time.
Hate was an active part of each of them.
I have been amazed at how much dislikes endure, too. If you look for them, you can find remnants almost anywhere. Maybe it is time we issue some proclamation or writ or bulls..whatever it might require to soften, delineate or legally obscure our present definition of "war" to allow "hate" to exist.
After all, the abiding strength of the Christian faith has been the ability of adherents to hate all sin.
Andrew McCaskey Sr amccsr@comcast.net 2-11-07 [c574wds]
