War, what do we stand for?

Last night the boys and I watched Band of Brothers as we usually do on Tuesday nights. Most of the time, I am desensitized to the war and violence. But last night was different.

This night we watched Part 6, depicting Easy Company's experience in the Battle of the Bulge in Bastogne, Belgium. Like many of the other five parts we've watched, it focused on one soldier, a medic as he took care of his fellow soldiers and scrapped together sparse medical supplies. He regularly rushed dying soldiers to the city of Bastogne for better treatment from the frontline. In Bastogne, which was completely cut-off from ally support, a church was filled with soldiers in pain from gun shots and shrapnel wounds. As the episode went on, the medic became more and more detached from the death around him.

In one scene, a young soldier, following the order of his superior, moved forward into an open position. He was shot in the neck. A gun fight ensued as the young man fought for breath and reached out for rescue from his brothers. One shouted to him, yelling at him to hold on and to stop moving (if the Germans saw him moving, they'd keep shooting at him). The soldier laid there, blood flowing out his throat, watching as the other soldiers retreated with no way to get to him. His friends never got back to his body.

Where did we ever learn that killing each other solved anything? When one enemy is killed, won't their collaborators, friends, or family vow to take their place? We send our young men and women to change the hearts of our enemies by dominating them, by forcing them to see our perspective... does that make any sense? Did any of you have a domineering parent? How'd that turn out?

What is wrong with us? We really believe dropping bombs fixes or heals? We really believe sticking a needle in a murderer's arm will give a mother peace? Why can't we treat each other with justice and kindness and mercy? Why in our families do we keep grudges that remain unsaid? Why can't we humble ourselves? Why do we fight for our respect as if we treated others well enough to deserve it? Why do friends become enemies because of a disagreement? Is this how we want to live? Stuck in our ways, with blinders, unyielding in our pursuit of standing up for our principles? Isn't your child, your brother, your mother, your father, your friend, the bus driver, the neighbor more important? Why do we struggle to love? I mean, it's ridiculous. The only thing of any real value in this life gets so clouded by success and money and pride. We are so bad at this stuff. We manipulate instead of serve. We resent instead of reconcile. We lie instead of admit our wrongs. We pursue success rather than justice.

I don't want to live that way. I do, but I don't want to. I don't want to contribute to the world's set ways. And I don't want to grow older and forget this idealistic thinking or believe it to be childish and immature. I don't want to forget and get complacent. I won't.

The ultimate weakness of violence is that it is a descending spiral, begetting the very thing it seeks to destroy. - Martin Luther King Jr., Strength To Love