As today marks the 10-year anniversary of 9-11, it is
important that we “never forget.” However, it is equally important that we know
what we are not forgetting. It’s easy to put “never forget” on a bumper
sticker, or facebook update, but it is much more difficult to think about what
we are supposed to remember. Are we just remembering the approximately 2,8000
who died that day? If so, to what end? And if we remember them, what of the
more than 1,000,000 Iraqi and Afghan civilians that have died as a result of
the American response to this heinous act? Aren’t their lives just as valid?
Aren’t they worth just as much? Don’t people love and miss them?
Some
may counter that these people would have died anyway, and certainly some would
have. According to a New York Times article by John Burns, in 23 years in power,
Sadaam Hussain was responsible for the deaths of around 200,000 Iraqi citizens,
not including his military ventures against Iran and Kuwait, but that’s a far
cry from 1,000,000. And the fact remains that he did not kill these people,
they were killed by military forces in missions led by the U.S. for crimes
(real or otherwise) against the U.S. They were killed by our brothers and
sisters, sons and daughters, mothers and fathers, and we cheered them on. We
sent them off with Toby Keith and freedom fries.
When we
are wronged it is certainly natural to react with vengeance. Sometimes the word
“retribution” is thrown around, but the intent is the same. Roughly translated,
it means something like “If you fuck with me, I’m going to fuck with you.” I
don’t like to throw around f-bombs, but the intent is violence, and this is a
violent word. We can cover our mouths and gasp at offensive language, but do we
react the same way when we hear that children are picking up cluster bombs they
think are toys, and ending up setting off these bombs in their homes? Do we
care that since the first Gulf War many children have been born with fatal
birth defects because of the use of depleted uranium?
The
world systems may embrace an “us v. them” mentality, but Christians cannot. “There
is neither Greek, nor Jew, slave nor free, male or female, for all are one in Christ
Jesus” writes the Apostle Paul. All are one. Furthermore, nationality has not
place is proper Christian thinking. We are not Mexicans, Americans, Koreans,
and so on. If we follow Christ, then that is where our allegiance lies. Any
national allegiance that claims to usurp our allegiance to Christ and Christ’s
church is idolatrous. It is sin. Patriotism is a sin. American flags (or any
flags) in church buildings is sinful. Our commitment is not to any one nation,
but the well-being of all, for all are one. All are loved by God, and therefore
are worthy of our love as well. We do not disdain the poor, the naked, the oppressed.
We clothe, feed, and pray for them, working for peace, not with violence, but
with kindness. The world wages war and calls it peace. Christians know this to
be a lie.
Peace
is in Christ, the one who died so that we might live, the one who humbled
himself on a cross, the one who healed those afflicted by violence, the one who
granted personhood to the marginalized. This is what it means to be Christian.
To be Christian is to love. And love keeps to record of wrongs. It does not
look for opportunities for vengeance, nor does it rejoice in the hardship or
misery of others. If we do, then perhaps we need to re-evaluate our commitments.
Do we want to be Christian, or just American?
