I must get something off of my chest. Veterans day bothers me. i suppose that it doesn’t bother me so much that the United States wants to honor its heroes, but it does bother me that American citizens, especially Christian ones, celebrate this day so uncritically. In other parts of the world, November 11 is celebrated as Armistice day. Armistice day remembers the end of World War I. Unfortunately, it seems as if Veterans Day has been co-opted by our Military as propaganda to uncritically support war and how our country uses violence to achieve its ends.
Make no mistake, the brave women and men who have given their lives while taking up arms against others deserve respect. Knowing that you may lose your life at any moment and still choosing to fight for what you believe in takes a courage that most don’t posses. Even Gandhi said it was preferable that someone is brave and violent than a coward.
Having said that, every country, even the ones we fight against, have military personnel too. Are we to believe that our military, and our veterans are somehow better than theirs? Is God more on our side than theirs? Are the ones we kill less important to their families than our veterans are to us? Clearly the answer is no. It is this fact that is missed when we uncritically praise our military, our country, or even our soldiers.
I will say it. Uncritically remembering “our veterans” means that we give validity, not only to the soldiers who share our values, but also the ones who have committed atrocities while in the service of our country.
There are better ways to make an impact and to keep others safe than carrying weapons. Can a soldier effectively do their job without weapons? No. That is, in some sense, what makes a soldier a soldier. It is ironic that while other countries celebrate Armistice day, ending a war, we celebrate our armed forces. Is it not, even a little, ironic that we also celebrate Martin Luther King Jr. Day? MLK is remembered for using non-violence to bring about change. How can our country prop them up both as holidays, as if they were going about the same mission, both agreeing to the American dream?
Today also marks the stepping down of Gene Shalit from his post at the “Today” show, after 40 years of film critique. This guy represents the other side of our culture. I like Gene. I like his mustache. I think he is funny. But in my mind, he represents the force in our culture opposite of the military, that keeps us pacified with media (movies, TV, novels, internet, games, sports) in order that we never get too excited about anything that is actually important. Consider how much time is spent commenting on media, consuming media, purchasing things that link us to media. When would we ever have time to think critically about our military and its engagements? Oh and by the way, there are more searches for Gene Shalit today than Veterans day on Google, if you doubt what I am saying.
Christ might have grown a silly mustache, especially for a good cause. But he would not have spent his life critiquing movies, or encouraging such reckless consumption of media. He would not have gone to war. Nor, as the leader of a country, would he have sent others to war. Christ, during his time on Earth protested violent uprising. He subverted the culture of Rome that used its military to bring “peace”. Christ would have been all about Armistice day. I doubt very much Christ would celebrate Veterans day. I also doubt very much that he would have given his support to a church founded on his name waving an American flag during his worship, and certainly he would not uncritically give support to all veterans everywhere, knowing that his people were violently oppressed by the same sort of military that America wields today.
“Sorry for my lack of faith, I’m not the greatest Patriot. If this is, all there is to freedom, I don’t want it.” – FIF
*sigh
Thanks, Mike. I too, let out a sigh of relief when I got this out.
Pingback: Tweets that mention Veterans Day, Gene Shalit, and Christ | Political Jesus -- Topsy.com
Thank you very much for this article on Jesus and Veterans Day. I was inconvinced today while waiting for the bus. Then someone told me that the bus wasn’t comming because of Veterans Day. I couldn’t belive it! I don’t believe in war, why should I have to be punished one day out of the year because some people do? I didn’t know that about other counteries celebrating the end of a war. That is so cool! I wish we had a holiday like that here in Ameica. But if we did somebody would probally twist it. I’ve never seen Jesus as supporting any war. Sometimes I feel sorry for Jehovah’s Witnesses because of how bad they are treated for not believing in war or flag worship. People say, “Then they should just get out of the country.” But that makes NO sense because if they were in another countery they wouldn’t worship the flag in that countery either. So it makes no sense to tell them to leave since they won’t worship any countery no matter where they are.
Melissa, thank you for your comment. It is indeed difficult to stand against the dominant script of a culture. Just ask Jesus. It is important that, like Jesus, we also encourage God’s alternative to our warlike consumer culture.
While I agree that we need to be critical in our remembrance of history, I do not agree that Veteran’s Day is a bad, evil thing. I pray for the day when there will be no need or want for our military forces, but I do not see that day coming short of the second coming of Christ. In the mean time, we are imperfect people who live in an imperfect world. Have some of our soldiers died in vain? Yes. Have some of our soldiers done things which none of us would approve of? Yes. Have our political and military leaders made poor decisions for bad reasons that have resulted in the deaths of many people (American as well as those belonging to other nations)? Yes.
Consider, however, that if there were not men and women who were willing to be a part of our armed forces and step into the murky, gray, and black spheres of war (there is no light, for there is no glory or holiness it) this nation which we (rightly) criticize so heavily would have no place on this planet, for there are other human beings who would gladly embrace force to take what we have from us. And I’m not enough of a Christian to let that place go just now. This may sound paranoid, xenophobic, etc. but we as Christians should know by now that human nature is sinful. History has shown us that we humans will embrace force to get what we want. This is not solely an American condition, or a ‘foreign’ condition.
So how do I remember Veteran’s Day? With very mixed feelings. I acknowledge and honor the sacrifices the men and women of our military have made, but I understand that they too are people. Their motives for joining the military might not be pure as the driven snow, their actions while serving as part of our military might be imperfect, and the orders they are given might be equally flawed.
But I can sleep in my bed at night feeling like the world probably won’t end while I’m snoozing.
Dave, you said, “Consider, however, that if there were not men and women who were willing to be a part of our armed forces… this nation which we (rightly) criticize so heavily would have no place on this planet”
I would respectfully submit that the Romans, Greeks, Persians, Babylonians, Assyrians, and Egyptians felt no differently (and were no less correct) than you do. Yet, we see that the scriptures frame their stories in terms of being anti-YHWH. Defending ones way of life by destroying someone else’s is not a value I can endorse, no matter how much I benefit from it.
You also said, “But I can sleep in my bed at night feeling like the world probably won’t end while I’m snoozing.”
That is true. But it is also true that across the world, because of our military’s intervention, someone else’s world is.
Pingback: A few comic related tidbits | Political Jesus