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Our new war president
by John Dear SJ on Dec. 08, 2009
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Printer-friendly versionSend to friendPDF versionLast week at West Point, President Obama cited his reasons for sending more troops to Afghanistan. Obama spoke eloquently. He insisted our cause is just. It is necessary, it is crucial. Killing Afghanis is the way to peace. The oxymorons rolled off his tongue.
Apparently, it does not matter that wars are bankrupting us. Or sending our young to die. Or leaving them psychologically impaired. Or degrading the environment. Or, bitterest of ironies, breeding a new generation of terrorists.
It doesn’t seem to matter that most Americans want the war to stop, that most Afghanis want us out. It doesn’t even matter that only a hundred Al Qaeda members remain in Afghanistan. The rest have taken refuge in Pakistan. Our new war president says the war must continue.
“You would think that we don’t have enough to do here at home,” Ohio Congressman Dennis Kucinich said this week.
You would think that we don’t have 47 million Americans who go to bed hungry, 47 million Americans who don’t have any health care, 15 million Americans who are out of work, another 10 million Americans whose homes are threatened with foreclosure, people going bankrupt, and business failures. All these things are happening in our country and we’re acting like a latter-day version of the Roman Empire, reaching for empire while inside we rot. We have to challenge this because our future as a nation is at stake. If we continue to militarize, we lose our civil liberties, we lose our capacity to meet our needs here at home.
We have money for Wall Street and money for war, but we don’t have money for work. We have money for Wall Street and money for war, but we don’t have money for health care. We have to start asking ourselves, why is it that war is a priority, but the basic needs of the people of this country are not? And how are we getting the money to pay for the war? We’re borrowing it. We’re going deeper into debt. We’re mortgaging our future. We’re creating conditions where we will become less democratic because we can’t meet the most essential needs of our people. This needs to be challenged. And it needs to be challenged in a forthright way. The issue is the war; the issue is America’s reach for empire. The issue is our inability to meet the needs of people here at home.
Obama and his generals are dead wrong -- this I insist with so many others. The war is illegal, immoral, impractical and plain foolish. It will further divide us. It will lead us into debt beyond our means. It will sow the seeds of terrorist attacks to come.
And one thing more, for the record. We are engaging here in mortal sin. I say this with confidence. War is not the will of God. Bombing sisters and brothers is not the way of the Gospel. This, despite our president and his generals, is not the method of Christ the peacemaker. His way? “Love your enemies. Do not violently resist those who do evil. Put down the sword. Blessed are the peacemakers.” Jesus would have us pursue nonviolent methods of resolving conflict.
“The way forward is for the U.S. to press for all party negotiations within Afghanistan to create a new Afghan social contract,” Joseph Gerson of American Friends Service Committee wrote this week.
This would need to be reinforced by an international conference and actions on the part of all major states involved in the war to help build and support that social contract. This, of course, also means dealing with the source of Indian-Pakistani tensions, and the geostrategic ambitions of the major powers who have insisted on playing, and losing, the ‘Great Game.’
In this holy season of Advent, let me offer a few points. First, we have to stop making an idol out of Obama. He is not a messiah; he is not, as Cindy Sheehan jokes, “The Pope of Hope.” He, like every president before him, is the spokesperson for the empire. He’s increased our military budget beyond that of George W. Bush. No, our hope lies elsewhere. We have a messiah already -- one who is nonpartisan, non-ideological, and most important, decidedly nonviolent. To follow this nonviolent messiah, we must be more than liberals, (or conservatives). We need to be mature disciples. We must place our hope in the nonviolent Jesus and practice his way of nonviolent resistance.
Second, we must direct our resistance toward our nation’s imperial aspirations. When Obama spoke of “protecting our national interests,” he spoke like the Bushes and Reagan, like Johnson and Truman. It’s the age-old logic of empire -- mass murder to protect the powerful elite. This is what we must name and resist: the anti-way of empire.
Third, we have to be suspect of “top-down” thinking. We must reclaim instead “bottom-up” grassroots movement building. Empires require their populations to be docile and obedient, to worship their leaders, to surrender their money and to kill for their elite. They instill in the masses a sense of powerlessness, a sense that nothing can be done. It’s a dream come true when millions upon millions shrug and give up and shake their heads. Or better yet, buy into the myths of empire for their own aggrandizement.
Jesus, on the other hand, calls us into citizenship of the reign of God -- and to resist, nonviolently, every tradition and polity that opposes it. The change comes from the bottom up, as the Gospels show us. And Advent is a time to learn the lesson again.
Too many of us think that Obama will bring the change we want. He won’t, he can’t. Ours is a time of empire, addicted to injustice, violence and war. He hasn’t the power to rein in entrenched bureaucracies, corporate interests, warlike traditions. What might a leader of an empire have to do with Jesus’ campaign of nonviolent resistance? All he can offer is lip service.
That leaves change in the hands of the rest of us, those building the movement of nonviolence from the bottom. Recall how small it all started, in a crib, in what amounted to a homeless shelter. And from there the movement grows, in the hinterlands of Galilee, gathering steam as it approached the great warlike city. “Jerusalem, Jerusalem. If you had only known what makes for peace.”
There, in the warlike city, he dies. The movement is crushed. But then, against all odds, it rises and begins again. This is how change happens, and that’s what we need to remember and reclaim and relive.
And so, fourth, we need to keep rebuilding a grass-roots movement to end the U.S. wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. We need to speak out locally, help our parishes to discuss the questions, and organize public vigils against the war. We need to study and practice the methods of nonviolent resistance.
As my friend David Hartsough, a long time movement activist, told me this week: “We are on the brink of global transformation, of a true global movement of nonviolence, which means, every one of us has to be Rosa Parks. We are all Rosa Parks. We all have to take a stand for peace and justice, resist the wars and build a peace movement."
This will be a long-term project, perhaps many, many years, perhaps the rest of our lives. So we have to be rooted in prayer, patience, and love. We will need to use the three tools of every social movement: education, lobbying, public witness. But we need to base all our public work for peace in God, in the Gospels, in the Holy Spirit.
Fifth, we need to take care of ourselves. And one another. We need to say our prayers, love one another, be merciful toward ourselves, practice interpersonal nonviolence, and quietly intercede on behalf of the world’s poor for the coming of God’s reign of justice and peace.
We must be careful not to engage in the language of results, effectiveness or success. This is not the way of the Gospel. This is the language of empire. We heard it last week. “We have had some success,” Obama said, “killing some Al Qaeda officials.”
In one way or another, success is tied to violence. We are not to speak in this way or think in those terms. We are not to abide by the rules of the imperial game. Ours is a long-haul project of nonviolent resistance that recognizes the ends within the means we use. We will face defeat and appear to the world as failures. But pressing on brings nonviolent transformation.
Finally, let’s put our hopes in the nonviolent Jesus, not on Obama. In these holy Advent days summon images of God’s nonviolent reign, of our nonviolent messiah, of his great speeches. Let’s prepare ourselves anew to become Jesus’ campaigners of nonviolence. As we pray for “peace on earth,” let us lament the latest push that leads to “death to Afghanis,” and do what we can to welcome that greatest of Christmas gifts.
****
John Dear’s latest books, Daniel Berrigan: Essential Writings; A Persistent Peace; Put Down the Sword, and Patricia Normile’s John Dear On Peace, are available from www.amazon.com. This week, he will speak to a Catholic girls’ high school in New York City, and next week, to a Catholic boys high school in Cleveland. For information, or to schedule a speaking event, visit: www.johndear.org.
Thank you! Having strongly
Thank you! Having strongly supported Obama for President didn't make me change my core convictions. I appreciate your articulation of the challenge facing us all. The only way I can see to change imperial America is to engage those energies elsewhere, and that requires great imagination and perseverance rather than saber-rattling soundbites.
I really enjoyed Fr. Dear's
I really enjoyed Fr. Dear's last book on global anti-terrorism strategy and Realpolitik. What? Fr. Dear's specialty isn't international relations and military strategy? Who knew?
The reason we need more troops in Afghanistan is simple--to have fewer killings. According to people who know something, increased troops work as a deterrent and decrease killing by helping to neutralize terrorists and their goals and ensure the peace internally and internationally. And even if this new policy fails, the fact that such is the belief and intent makes the increase of troops not a mortal sin. Seems Fr. Dear needs a theology lesson as well.
I find myself agreeing with
I find myself agreeing with most of your comments. Early on, once I awoke from the relief of a new presidency, I saw President Obama as a man, a politician, and one who was quickly caught up in the machinations of the empire-political system. He is articulate. But I think his 'loose change' capital has been spent. It certainly will be a moment of dramatic tension when the president travels to Oslo to receive the Nobel Peace prize.
However, a couple of your statements trouble me. As far as I can recall, I have not seen any statement issued by the Church condemning the war in Afghanistan. I'm not saying that is a license to support it, rather, your judgment of what is or is not a mortal sin places you in a unique position, as an arbiter of moral right and wrong. As President Obama is a man who is president, you are a man who is a priest. Of course, if the Church condemns the war calling it a mortal sin, then those who participate are equally culpable. That obviously creates a very sticky position for the Church and her prelates. Outside of condemning abortion, the official Church is seemingly not too keen on jumping into the 'war is mortal sin' cesspool.
If, as your friend suggests, we are on the "brink of a global transformation," which, as you suggest, will take perhaps the rest of our lives, that would seem to suggest a pretty large-edged brink, perhaps more like a plateau. Who would have thought that when the Soviet Union diminished and it appeared there was one "world power", that a small band of people could launch that power into almost a decade long (and counting)frenzy to dig them out, kill them, and in turn vaporize its own economy? Unfortunately, war, killing, terror continues to emerge like weeds through concrete. Who would have guessed that a repressive and closed society like China would emerge as the economic powerhouse and financial backer of the aforementioned world power?
While we are accountable for our responses as Christians, it is obvious to me we remain a largely singular voice in promoting love they neighbor. Albeit, we are yet novices in that process. Again, not to suggest we shouldn't speak out, rather, I'd urge caution in your finger pointing as to what non-Catholics, whether as president or terrorist, ought to be concerned about under the umbrella of Catholic Church doctrine. We too have a deficit budget in many areas that needs attention.
Thank you very much, Rev.
Thank you very much, Rev. Father John Dear SJ, for drawing this courageously, prophetically, fearlessly and correctly to our attention, that we be not deceived by the war profiteers and false patriots, those who in the name of God break the commandments of God to love.
Love thy enemy.
Rather than hear the lies of the false prophets and deceivers who lead us further into violent destruction, let us read the nonviolent and inspiring writings of the Reverend Father John Dear, SJ, and take and renew the vow to nonviolence which is our sacramental Baptism, when we renounced Satan and all of his works.
Love thy enemy, and do good . . .
frère charles du désert
If miliary action is always
If miliary action is always wrong, why didn't Christ tell the soldiers to lay down their arms and cease being soldiers (Luke 3:14)? Rather, he permitted them to continue being soldiers.
Then some soldiers asked him,
Then some soldiers asked him, "And what should we do?" He replied, "Don't extort money and don't accuse people falsely—be content with your pay."
seems to assume here that they also have not, you know, like, KILLED the people either . . .
And what he asks here of them, wow . . .
We taxpayers have been extorted for decades with scary ghost stories about bloodthirsty enemies coming to get us, and so give more to war
by accusing people falsely.
perhaps Our Lord was assuming too much here for your understanding? Perhaps he assumed they already knew about "Thou shalt not kill!" or would not even be talking to Him?
To kill is a mortal sin. There is no moral reason for our killing and two popes now have said so.
What does it take for you to listen?
Me? A lot.
It takes the Reverend Father John Dear SJ.
"seems to assume here that
"seems to assume here that they also have not, you know, like, KILLED the people either . . ."
No it doesn't. Certainly Augustine and Aquinas didn't assume that. I think that's pretty good company to keep.
To kill is not always a mortal sin. No pope has ever said that. Could God have commanded the Israelites to commit a mortal sin? The Torah commands killing in certain situations.
The words to the soldiers
The words to the soldiers came from John the Baptist, not Jesus. Jesus clearly told Peter, "Put away your sword."
Wasn't it John who said for
Wasn't it John who said for the soldiers to continue, as John prepared the way: Ch3:14.. The soldiers came to be baptized...
Charles I thought you were a
Charles I thought you were a big supporter of Obama?
Have you changed your mind?
Jesus, like Obama, would have
Jesus, like Obama, would have been obliged by the Western forces of evil to perpetuate the wars started by the evil Bush administration. Because of these ruthless and savage capitalists, helped by every country's elite and oligarchy, he couldn't even reestablish the democratic order in his back yard of Honduras after the coup d'État that overthrew the democratically-elected president who, like the guy from Nazareth, was working for the meakest among his people. Hillary Clinton had already accepted it and is now wowing to eliminate the Taliban and Al-Qaeda in the Middle East!
Saint Francis is often called
Saint Francis is often called our modern example of Jesus Christ.
Saint Francis walked barefoot in rags to chat and to pray with the Sultan when the rest of Europe was invading and slaughtering Muslim lands (as we now do).
They enjoyed a very nice a fruitful and thoughtful visit, and Saint Francis returned home to be rejected by his own congregation.
Jesus would now do the same, and not at all be "obliged by the Western forces of evil to perpetuate the wars started by the evil Bush administration" but to end them all.
Our President would do very very well to walk barefoot to visit the "enemy" and to talk and to pray, and upon returning home, to suffer absolute rejection by his own nation.
But that is happening anyway with his plan for universal and accessible health care . . .
It is an honour to have you
It is an honour to have you respond to my post, Frère Charles-du-Désert, oblat de la Congrégation de Subiaco.
Your Saint Francis comparison is well chosen. Jesus, too, was rejected. They both rejected wars and refused to bear arms. They were both human. But neither was the elected leader of the mighiest military power in the world, subjected to those pervasive "forces of evil".
But Obama will probably be rejected regardless of his transformation from dove to liberal warrior or warmonger and his "new and improved" health care system for reasons like the colour of his skin and the lies of some media like Pox News.
Sorry, but Obama is doing
Sorry, but Obama is doing exactly what he said in more than one campaign speech. That is getting out of Iraq and finishing the war Bush quit on. I never saw Obama as some sort of dove, except for his platitudes about reducing nuclear weapons he never stated he would reduce our investment in the military industrial complex--and he hasn't.
I do not agree with
I do not agree with everything the President says. We do need to reduce our military spending and have a reasonable discussion about Afghanistan and internal issues. However, this commentary is too much about some perceived "empire" that the United States is not.
what planet do live on
what planet do live on anonymous? out here in new zealand and the rest of the world we are tired of being shat on by 'the empire' - get real!
Wonder of wonders! I have
Wonder of wonders! I have found something on which Fr. Dear and I agree: Obama is not the messiah, nor is he an idol. He is a politician, pure and simple.
Well said Clint, now if The
Well said Clint, now if The Right would just see that Regan was not the massiah, nor was he an idol. He was a politican, pure an simple. Now that truly would be "wonder of wonders"!
Yes, it is always easier to
Yes, it is always easier to see the other side doing something and not see how the very same thing is being done by one's own side. I think Jesus addressed this when he talked about the log in one's own eye.
Fr. Dear, Thank you for
Fr. Dear,
Thank you for saying what I believe is true and so often overlooked, forgotten, and pushed aside.
Prayers for peace,
brandon
John Dear makes a strong case
John Dear makes a strong case for "nonviolence", but a weak case for "nonviolent resistance". Jesus and Gandhi did not spend much time on resistance. Rather,they spent most of their time doing good. John mentions some of these actions like:"we need to take care of ourselves. And one another. We need to say our prayers, love one another, be merciful toward ourselves, practice interpersonal nonviolence, and quietly intercede on behalf of the world’s poor for the coming of God’s reign of justice and peace." These positive acts are helpful. Demonstrations and resistance usually end up making more adversaries than friends.
"First, we have to stop
"First, we have to stop making an idol out of Obama." Huh? Where have you been, John? President Obama can do things just right as we have slowly seen, and be castigated totally from all sides along the way. It's the political reality of his Presidency that he will not be an idol. But he may just do some very right things, and he is a problem-solver who is willing to keep working at stuff. That's what we need right now.
President Obama is disliked
President Obama is disliked on both sides because he tries to appease both sides and not do what he believes to be right. Eventually, a baby will be cut in half.
President Obama is dlsliked
President Obama is dlsliked by the EXTREMES of both sides; we have a nation that no longer governs in the middle where most people live.
"Appeasement" is a stupid word for real efforts trying to get this nation to learn what government is again--which is an art of dynamic expression of ideologies, but which finally works to solve problems through negotiation, compromise, and trying new strategies to solve problems.
I'm sorry, but if I were
I'm sorry, but if I were liberal, and not just extreme, I would be furious with President Obama.
You can be as furious as you
You can be as furious as you want, so long as at some point you understand the political process in this country. It is not all about your fury, or one group's fury. There are many individuals, and many groups, and those elected are, at some point in time, expected to actually do something rather than rant others' fury. Governing is an art and it is an art of compromise and negotiation when it is time for action, and it is so time for action on so many things. It seems that the study of political science has been lost on the youngers, who may just understand better by the time they become the olders. We have to hope.
I tend to be left-of-center
I tend to be left-of-center and I am not furious with President Obama. No, not at all. Quite proud, in fact. Also I certainly have never met someone who was an extremist and was able to recognize that they were on the extreme (they all think they are prophets and, believe it or not, mainstream). I know it is easier to see the other side thru a very narrow lense and I suspect that is how you see the left. But to the disippointment of many on The Right, most of us will see things from our perspective and not be dictated by the hate, hysteria and minipulations of The Right wing pundits.
Annie O, to date he hasn't
Annie O, to date he hasn't solved any problems only added to existing problems and created new ones.
I would disagree that he
I would disagree that he added to existing problems, but my question would be just how many problems did you think he could solve in 10 months?
You only listen to those you
You only listen to those you already agree with, and we've heard that for awhile, Milbo 1. If you listen to those who offer opinions from all sides, you will find the likes of longterm conservatives who assert that President Obama's fiscal policies kept us from going over the brink of economic disaster. These aren't Obama supporters or Democrats or even Independents. These are hardline conservatives. He is a President who has faced very difficult combinations of problems, but he does what he says--he keeps trying to find ways to solve problems, and that requires more skills than someone stuck in a comfortable ideological groove.
Dream on, Annie O, dream on!
Dream on, Annie O, dream on! Maybe someday you will wake up and see reality.
You need to listen to other
You need to listen to other people for awhile and not just to the sound of your own voice, and then, if you were an honest person, you would know that I am fairly reporting what even many conservative commentators have to say. They do know more than you do. All you ever do is dissolve into some personal insult in your comments. Why don't you just read and listen to others for awhile?
Again, you need to listen to
Again, you need to listen to some national commentators on all sides and not just to the sound of your own voice.
Another president who wants
Another president who wants to be seen as a tough guy. He could have used the Clint Eastwood line: "When it comes to killin', I've always been lucky." Perhaps Eastwood should script our foreign policy.
We should take Rep. Kucinich's words to heart. We should commit them to paper and send them to our latest bloodthirsty president.
War IS a mortal sin. "No more war! Never again war!"
Thank you for your work for peace, Fr. John.
+Timothy
H.G. Bishop Timothy (MacLam)
Director
Pilgrim Prayer & Healing Ministries
War a mortal sin? Certainly
War a mortal sin? Certainly human failure. My memory from my Baltimore Cathechism is the matter has to be serious, someone (an individual) has to know it is serious and then do it anyway. Obama did not get us into this war. As near as I can make out there are no easy outs. Ratcheting up the rhetoric, slinging zingers, only builds animosity in my experience.
I understand trying to bring attention to a grave happening and get people thinking. But my way or the highway? Isn't that what got us into this mess in the first place?
Peace There is no other
Peace
There is no other way.
except the road unto more death
The Baltimore Catechism was
The Baltimore Catechism was written long before the nuclear annihilation of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and before our best and brightest came up with satellite-guided Patriot missiles, cluster bombs, daisy-cutters, phosphorus, F-14's, Abram's tanks, uranium-tipped bullets and shells, and Predator drones.
War is no longer just. The criteria of proportionality cannot be used any more. More civilians than soldiers are always killed. Not to mention that our attacking Iraq and Afghanistan are not wars of self-defense nor even revenge. It was almost all Saudis in the hijacked planes.
Mr. Obama claims that Hitler could not have been stopped by non-violent resistance. That's a straw man argument: Had Franz Jägerstätter led thousands to refuse to serve as he did, no war. "What if they gave a war and nobody came"?
Furthermore, it is a lie to claim that we have underwritten global security for more than six decades by creating and maintaining the military/industrial complex. We have assassinated, subverted, destabalized, and invaded so that "democracy" would "take hold in places like the Balkans." We lay democracy in its grave to have our American oligarchs repeatedly disdain the will of the people.
There is certainly something grievously wrong with World Trade. And we don't get the point.
If any nation has failed to "follow the rules of the road" to war, it is certainly us. It is we who have repeatedly violated the Geneva Conventions, especially in our invasions and occupations in the Middle East. And we take far more than our fair share of the world's material assets.
The way of peace, active non-violent resistance, is not "inaction." Our soldiers are not "wagers of peace." They kick down doors to people's homes, rape the girls, kill unarmed drivers who don't obey commands given in a foreign tongue, shoot taxi-drivers in the back with 50mm howitzer shells, bomb people starved for fuel, attack wedding parties and funeral gatherings.
No wars are justified or efficacious. Mr. Obama should grow a spine and directly oppose those non-progressive people he's allowed to sit at his table.
Thank heavens there is a sane
Thank heavens there is a sane voice out there!!!
How very refreshing to read Christian common sense!!!!!
Jesus promised us: "Peace I
Jesus promised us: "Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid."
The world gives peace (or rather, thinks it does) through victory in battle, because the world believes in the redemptive power of violence, as Walter Wink writes.
Our hearts will be at peace and we will spread that peace to our fellow human beings if we follow the nonviolent way of Jesus.
But there's just one catch: we must be prepared to suffer. Jesus did not promise a place at his right hand and his left hand to James and John. The only thing he promised them was that they would drink of the cup that he himself drank.
So we must strengthen and encourage and pray for one another.
And we will know Jesus' own peace that is beyond all understanding.
Dear Father John, There is so
Dear Father John,
There is so much truth in what you have written. I've sent e-mails to the President as well as regular letters about this mess in Afghanistan. And I worked very heard for his election, esp. as a retired RN, I was working for health care reform. As for Afghanistan, I suggested that before he make any decisions, he would talk with Rory Stewart, who wrote "The Places In Between", his book about walking across Afghanistan, as he has done in every mideastern country he's written about, and Greg Mortenson, author of "Three Cups of Tea". I do feel we must render humanitarian aid, build schools and hospitals and help these people develop and agricultural base so they can feed themselves. The biggest thing is that we do not understand tribal culture, esp. the terrible treatment of females and somehow, males in these tribal countries need to be educated somehow. How, I haven't the foggiest. All we can do is to keep writing or protesting in whatever way we can. Bobbie
certainly drone-bombing them
certainly drone-bombing them does not educate the "males in these tribal countries" the way of nonviolence, justice and peace.
The Reverend Father John Dear SJ does.
Thank you for speaking the
Thank you for speaking the language of peace and teaching us all the difference between the language of empire building and the language of the nonviolent Jesus. We'll continue to pray, hope, love.
Great article, John, I hope
Great article, John, I hope you sent this article to Obama. I voted for him because I thought he would speak of peace and act justly, which he did start, but as we have seen over and over again, politics and power destroys a person as they let go of their principles. Because despite it all I do beleive his heart is in a different place but has let "the empire " turn him around. I have been very disappointed in his decisions and will continue to pray for him and us all.
God's peace!
I admire Fr Dear's
I admire Fr Dear's committment to peace and agonise continually on the violence in the world associated with war. But if he has a plan to outlaw war which will be embraced by the various parties involved then I would like him to reveal it so that I have something tangible to pray for and to promote.
Plan Nine: Love thy enemy Do
Plan Nine:
Love thy enemy
Do good to those who hurt you.
If someone requires your coat give your shirt as well.
All for Jesus through Mary with a smile.
Works every time!
frère charles du désert OSB OBLAT (Congrégation de Subiaco)
John, Thus for stating so
John,
Thus for stating so clearly what many of us are trying to say. May God continue to give you the courage to speak the prophetic word to a militarized violent nation. Our commitment to militarized violence is destroying us and our human relationships. It is polarizing us into us and them and we sure are polarized. Finally, too many of us are buying the big lies--safe for democracy = we want your oil and we want hegemony in your part of the world. Ignacio Martin-Baro, your brother Jesuit psychologist and martyr, identified these effects of war on the Salvadoran people and they apply to the effects of war on the American people today.
Keep on keeping on because you are encouraging the rest of us. I strongly recommend that people read Daniel Berrigan: Essential Writings. It helps us understand further that we must say "No!" to war, militarization and violence.
Another problem with Obama is
Another problem with Obama is that he supports abortion and the death penalty. So if someone runs against him for president who shares Obama's support for war and the death penalty but is adamantly pro-life on abortion, he or she will be the lesser of two evils.
I know others will disagree
I know others will disagree and it will probably make no difference to you, but I think it needs to be said none-the-less. I do not think being pro-choice is supporting abortion.
Father Dear, Thank you for
Father Dear,
Thank you for that very well written and quite accurate article about President Obama. You are certainly correct: despite what many Catholics who voted for him thought, Barack Obama had no intentions of ending the war or doing anything else for the good of the nation. His objective: to get elected so the Democrats could run the country.
Hopefully in the future, Catholics will not sell their souls to this used car salesman whose convictions are capricious and phony.
While I am certainly opposed to this war, I do not think that Obama or any other politician for that matter, is going to be able to end it until the individuals fighting it (terrorists included) decide otherwise.
And where was all the
And where was all the agonizing for the last 8 years we have been in Afghanistan? President Obama did not start this war, although many thought it was "just" as that is where the plotting happened that killed over 3,000 innocent people on Sep.11, 2001. How do we extricate ourselves from this mess? Do we just walk out, and leave a government that cannot withstand a takeover by the Taliban? We know the horrid human rights violations this regime had, especially against women. How do we make sure that what is spilling over into Pakistan does not result in terroists having control of nuclear weapons? I am sure this was not an easy decision for the President to make, but I believe it was done with the intent of allowing us to get out of this situation, and leaving behind a functioning government and society. That is what we should pray for. Only with the establishment of justice can there be peace: "Love and truth will meet, justice and peace will kiss" (Ps 85).
Peace and blessings.
Two questions. If "we" (which
Two questions. If "we" (which presumably includes me, too) are engaging in mortal sin as Fr. Dear states, should I refrain from receiving Communion until I have repented of this sin, confessed it, and been absolved of it in the sacrament of Penance? And how can I be sure I am not re-engaging in this mortal sin as soon as I step from the confessional since I am really not sure how I am engaging in it now? Father?
pay no taxes and you do not
pay no taxes and you do not participate
same with abortion, no?
What leverage does an
What leverage does an individual have to stop such a war? One can demonstrate but such actions are typically dismissed or not even seen by those who make war decisions. One can write to his / her elected representative. Such letters are read by staff and a thank you letter is typically sent. If the receipeint disagrees with the writer's position, you get an explaination of why the represenative is right and you are not. Seems like mainstream churches need to provide some leadership by saying that this war is wrong.
Only in the light of history
Only in the light of history do we humans realize what has happened go our societies. There are always truth-tellers like John Dear, but what they say is so far from the illusion of what we believe ourselves to be that they are derided as traitors, unrealistic and into grandiosity. If there is anything left of the country I was born, future generations will be able to pinpoint the death of the republic, the rise and the fall of empire (all of which have happened in my lifetime). We are the willfully blind who refuse to accept that our beautiful house is built on sand. This would be simply an interesting academic fact if it were not for the misery and death of so many people - and particularly the poor. Mortal sin? Of course it is. Don't fool yourself. - Rev. Paul F. English
John, I agree with you. What
John, I agree with you. What Obama is doing in promoting this war in Afghanistan is wrong. I believe that he has been listening to people in the military and they cause only fear, which causes violence and regression. Obama has never been the messiah, nor did I vote for him believing that he was a messiah, but I suppose to some, compared to Bush, he might have seemed so. It is really sad to witness Obama succumb to the idea that war and killing is the answer.
Dec. 1, 2009 Dear Mr.
Dec. 1, 2009
Dear Mr. Obama:
You have totally forfeited my esteem.
You said: I have determined that it is in our vital national interest to send an additional 30,000 U.S. troops to Afghanistan. After 18 months, our troops will begin to come home.
You said: our security is at stake in Afghanistan and Pakistan. This is the epicenter of the violent extremism practiced by al Qaeda. It is from here that we were attacked on 9/11, and it is from here that new attacks are being plotted as I speak.
Although I have been complaining to you in responses to your weekly internet addresses, I have abstained from judging you for eleven months. You have played into the hands of Ms. Clinton and Mr. Gates. This capitulation to General McChrystal is the last straw.
I did not forget your campaign speeches about Afghanistan. But I had hope that when you were voted into the presidency and were really the most powerful man on earth, you would use your vast personal aptitude to read about and understand that Afghanistan is just one more stepping stone for the wealthiest 1% among us to continue taking far more than their fair share of the world. I believed you would come to understand that the eternal verities do apply in the case of Afghanistan and in every case presented to us with current events.
My hopes are dashed. My beliefs are exploded. You are a milquetoast man without the spine to stand up to and oppose the handful of powerful people you have chosen to surround yourself with.
The art or technique of understanding should be on guard against arbitrary fancies and the limitations imposed by imperceptible personal habits of thought. You are fixing your gaze on Afghanistan with particular expectations about the meaning you intend to find there. You have powerful cheerleaders in Ms. Clinton and Mr. Gates who distract you with their own strong opinions. So you cannot see things as they are by themselves.
I feel nothing but despair.
You have forever lost my vote and my support. You have broken faith. I do not trust you at all anymore--about anything.
________________
I'm with Mr. Kucinich in this false dichotomy between left and right. Listen to his argument with the FOX.
Mr. Obama has made a terrible mistake in not standing up to his false counselors, those who promote war as a solution.
The discussion on whether or not Mr. Obama is a "wimp" has focused on phantoms.
He has proved he is, beyond doubt, a wimp and milquetoast by not standing up to McChrystal, Clinton, Gates and the rest.
They are in charge, not Mr. Obama.
He has lost my esteem. I do not "back" him any longer and cannot tolerate his spineless capitulation to corporations, hawks, and the wealthy.
For him I now feel only scorn and defiance; slight regard, and contempt. His soul shall stand sore charged for the wasteful vengeance he sends to Afghanistan with our new troops.
It's not how many IQ points a person has; it's how he uses them that counts. The Afghan "decision" is stupid.
Father Dear, Thank you for
Father Dear,
Thank you for your beautiful words. I also see that we need to look outside of empire for the answers. We must be still and look inside to find the answers.
Jesus' love dwells in each of us and his love is the answer to all our needs. His love unites all of us and teaches us that we are all one. We are all brothers and sisters who share in his love. How can I make war against a brother or sister, against those I love? It's not possible.
The realization that Jesus is not speaking hypothetically when he refers to those around him as his brothers and sisters - that he means they are really his brothers and sisters - is a life altering experience. As more and more of God's children come to this realization, there will be an unstoppable movement leading to peace and the establishment of the Kingdom of God. Obama will never get us there. Let's not waste our time believing that he can.
Amazingly refreshing
Amazingly refreshing article!
Thank God someone is willing to clearly speak out against this atrocious escalation of war that has been sold to us in an "anti-war" package. Obama has deceived us. We now know Bush planned to go to Iraq BEFORE 9/11 and before he even took office. Obama also planned to escalate this war before he took office even as he campaigned against it. Bush capitalized off fear and hysteria to forward his fraudulent agenda (we all knew Iraq had nothing to do with 9/11) and Obama is doing the same by invoking 9/11 as justification for this reprehensible escalation (none of the alleged hijackers were from Afghanistan and Afghanistan poses NO threat to the U.S. whatsoever). However, if we look closely at history we find that MOST major wars were justified based on lies. From the false "babies in incubators" claim for the first gulf war, to the Gulf of Tonkin resolution for Vietnam, to the sinking of the U.S.S. Maine for WW1. The fraudulent "war on terror" is no different, in fact it's much worse. Independent citizens have uncovered cold hard proof that 9/11 was a false flag operation of deception that was engineered and executed from within. Please view this important video presentation with firsthand eyewitness evidence regarding the un-televised attack on the Pentagon PROVING the official account a lie:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j5FhQc-LJ-o
Details regarding the investigation are available here:
http://www.citizeninvestigationteam.com
Peace be with you all and THANK YOU for the great article John.
Wow, the President sure was
Wow, the President sure was mad at Norway for trying to make him look foolish. Took the money, and told them to shove it.
I liked Fr. John's thoughts
I liked Fr. John's thoughts alot although they seem a bit extreme even for a Dan Berrigan Catholic like me. I think that if Mr. Obama leaves Afghanistan now he will be so berated by the Right that he will not get reelected. I heard him speak in Chicago befor Mr. Bush went to war and Barrak said, in my presence "I am no pacifist". My heart sunk a little but if he said that he was, he would never have gotten elected. He's better than Mr. Bush but I don't think that he is capable yet of standing up to the "go to war people" in our non-elected portion of government. Using the Nobel Prize speech as a platform to promote, pretty unashamedly to me, his sending more troops over seas was to me pretty shabby for a lauriate to do. Unheard of it seems to me and very disappointing as a citizen, vet and Catholic. Please read Mr. Douglas' new book "JFK and the Unspeakable" . It helps to put together what we all are still facing as a nation. Peace.
As such a Catholic you no
As such a Catholic you no doubt may also appreciate the Reverend Father John Dear's recent Essential Writings edition of the work of the Reverend Father Daniel Berrigan SJ, from the Orbis Books Modern Spiritual Masters series.
The irony is obvious: 30,000
The irony is obvious: 30,000 more troops for war. Get on your airplane to receive the Nobel Peace Prize for your good, peaceful intentions. Your Peace Prize speech references just war.
Our media, our president dare
Our media, our president dare not speak the word "pipeline" in relation to Afghanistan. Any web search (as into Wikipedia) reveals that the U.S. and some of our allies have been striving to establish a natural gas pipeline through Afghanistan. This is a plan to by-pass the currently used pipe line controlled by Russian influence in that region (outside the boundaries of Afghanistan). As with Iraq, the word "oil" was a taboo and we, the American people, were told that was not our reason for going to war. At least the question of U.S. self-interests (politically, economically) vis-a-vis this Afghanistan link in the pipeline ought to be examined.
Sincerely,
Carolyn Grassi (retired Political Science teacher)
Pacifica, California
Certainly resources lie at
Certainly resources lie at the heart of all of our imperial wars.
Oddly, prior to our invasion, the opium harvest in the Afghan had been eradicated by our now declared enemies, whom we trained and supported under the Reagan/Bush regime against the seemingly endless and ultimately decimating Soviet occupation.
Since our invasion and occupation, that harvest of death is again the world's largest.
What was the purpose again of invading?
Maintaining that harvest?
This unendable occupation will decimate us as well.
I saw this coming...The
I saw this coming...The liberal cookie is slowly crumbling since most of you can't seem to come to an agreement (like Pharisees and Sadducees), not even within your own liberal principles and positions. The funniest part is that you are now attacking each other with the same personal motivations, you attacked the Church (who has always been uniform in teachings of Christ)who has been trying to help you and guide you to the Master all along...
"SO IF I VOTED FOR OBAMA, IS THAT A SIN PADRE????" as one blogger wrote against the liberal priest (with all respect, Father)
Do you now understand why abortion IS the primary issue??? Don't respect life from the beginning, and you won't respect it at any point in time. FORGET POLITICS!!!! QUIT THE EXCUSE GAMES!! Is your party Democratic, Republican, Independent, or the THEOCRATIC MONARCHY Jesus established within the Catholic Church????
May God grant us peace and finally open all of our eyes. In Jesus name. Amen
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