People helped with other of my primal fears. They helped
plenty. For example, I developed, as a youth, an unnatural fear of death from the efforts
of grownups who never tired of telling me of a fearsome old-man figure who
lived somewhere beyond the sky. This figure existed, so I was told, constantly,
to burn the bodies of kids like me in a pit of fire for eternity if they dared to
stray from a mythological shibboleth to which people of our clan ascribed. With
the aid of Darwin, Sagan, Dawkins, Hitchens, and countless others, I have
practically freed myself of this one, except for a periodic dream invasion.
Then there was the primal fear of authoritarian world-rule
by despotic and cruel master lords. In my youthful world this centered on
Communism, whatever that was.
To kids like me, it was what they showed us in films of armies,
tanks, guns, and rockets paraded in view of a viewing stand where stood vile and
warmongering despots who would destroy our beloved America and enslave the
survivors. Bear in mind that “survivor” is a mild euphemism for what they would
do to the young girls who lived through the holocaust.
These parades were conducted to convey to the world the raw
power that awaited the enemies of such fascist regimes. The films of those
parades scared the bejeezus out of us.
I’m sorry, but I may not have the same view as of some of you
about the fact that my own government is staging such a parade today. Why? To
show the enemies of our own fascist elements, perhaps, what terror awaits them.
It scares the bejeezus out of me. It also offends me more than
just a little.
As a veteran of the United States Navy, it offends me that
our military would be used for the purposes of personal political aggrandizement.
As a veteran of a foreign war in which I served my country, it offends me to think that we are messaging our youth the lie that Independence
Day is about war and standing armies, both of which the writers of our Constitution
deplored.
As a human being, it offends me because I believe that the
relationship between our brain and body sizes (so great, some evolutionists
say, that our species must be born prematurely to accommodate it) should lead
us to grander and more benign endeavors.
As an urban planner watching the cities of the Arkansas Delta
wither and die, it offends me that we are directing our resources to war, threats
of war, and demonstrations to our enemies what terrors await them should they
not allow us to rule them. Surely, we should spend our money in better ways.
As one who attempts—however feebly—in his daily life to observe The Beatitudes, as enunciated by Christ himself, I am offended that we, as a country, cannot follow this one simple guidance for a blessed life.
Disagree with me if you like. That’s really what Independence
Day is about to me: freedom, not fireworks, sport shoes, or one’s hatred of someone or
some group outside the shibboleth. Also, it will always remind me of what a great
chance America had to become, in the words of the Galilean, “ … the light of
the world, a city set on a hill [that] cannot be hid.”
Peace, the best 4th of July blessing I can offer
No comments:
Post a Comment