There is a gut-wrenching scene in the mini-series "Band of Brothers" I will never forget. American soldiers liberate a Nazi death camp. They are overcome with shock and repulsion when they see the starving prisoners and piles of dead bodies. The American commanding officer then does something unusual. He rounds up the local German population and makes them bury the dead. They somberly do the job. They claim they did not know what was going on.
Over the years I have wondered how the German people could have allowed such a thing to happen. Few were members of the Nazi party. Many were conscripted into the army. Not all were collaborators. Some risked their lives hiding Jews or helping others escape. Still, their collective national conscience says this was a time of shame for them. Fear kept many quiet. If they objected, they would suffer the same fate. If they objected, there would be consequences.
How can a people have a clear conscience if their sense of justice is violated and they say nothing? How can we stand by when the government does things in our name we do not think are just or ethical?
I attended Catholic schools for fifteen years. In my ethics classes, I was taught "The end does not justify the means." You cannot do something bad because it will cause a good outcome you want. I believe it is wrong to wipe out unborn children because it is a difficult or inconvenient pregnancy. I also believe it is wrong for our government in engage in torture. Do you remember the controversy over waterboarding? Many thought it wasn't torture. I believe you could settle the question of whether or not it is torture by having those who vote experience it themselves. Then tell us if it is torture.
America. We are better than that. We send the best of our men and women as warriors to defend our freedom. God bless them. They give their limbs, lives and sometimes mental health to defend the American way of life. A life of freedom and justice. It is a miscarriage of their spilled blood to have policies that are like the enemy we try to defeat. If the enemy is unjust and cruel, we must vigilantly defend our principals without resorting to torture. Show the world what freedom means.
We rented the movie "Rendition" and it stirred this up in me. Our fight against terrorism is real. The movie shows the evil we are fighting. It shows the evil of the jihadist indoctrination of the young in other lands. It shows the murderous people we have as enemies. It shows the struggle to combat this force. It also shows what happens when we violate our own sacred principles. Watch it if you have an open heart. As a Christian, I cannot stand idly by. We all must give an accounting someday.
Over the years I have wondered how the German people could have allowed such a thing to happen. Few were members of the Nazi party. Many were conscripted into the army. Not all were collaborators. Some risked their lives hiding Jews or helping others escape. Still, their collective national conscience says this was a time of shame for them. Fear kept many quiet. If they objected, they would suffer the same fate. If they objected, there would be consequences.
How can a people have a clear conscience if their sense of justice is violated and they say nothing? How can we stand by when the government does things in our name we do not think are just or ethical?
I attended Catholic schools for fifteen years. In my ethics classes, I was taught "The end does not justify the means." You cannot do something bad because it will cause a good outcome you want. I believe it is wrong to wipe out unborn children because it is a difficult or inconvenient pregnancy. I also believe it is wrong for our government in engage in torture. Do you remember the controversy over waterboarding? Many thought it wasn't torture. I believe you could settle the question of whether or not it is torture by having those who vote experience it themselves. Then tell us if it is torture.
America. We are better than that. We send the best of our men and women as warriors to defend our freedom. God bless them. They give their limbs, lives and sometimes mental health to defend the American way of life. A life of freedom and justice. It is a miscarriage of their spilled blood to have policies that are like the enemy we try to defeat. If the enemy is unjust and cruel, we must vigilantly defend our principals without resorting to torture. Show the world what freedom means.
We rented the movie "Rendition" and it stirred this up in me. Our fight against terrorism is real. The movie shows the evil we are fighting. It shows the evil of the jihadist indoctrination of the young in other lands. It shows the murderous people we have as enemies. It shows the struggle to combat this force. It also shows what happens when we violate our own sacred principles. Watch it if you have an open heart. As a Christian, I cannot stand idly by. We all must give an accounting someday.
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