There's been much in the media about our War in Afghanistan--especially with Obama agonizing over "how many troops" to send. The media folks tell us that we should expect an answer next week. In my reading of the arguments, I came across the following article in the journal Commonweal (A Review of Religion, Politics and Culture). The article finishes with this quote:
If the United States today has a saving mission, it is to save itself. Speaking in the midst of another unnecessary war back in 1967, Martin Luther King got it exactly right:
“Come home, America.” The prophet of that era urged his countrymen to take on “the triple evils of racism, economic exploitation, and militarism.”
Dr. King’s list of evils may need a bit of tweaking—in our own day, the sins requiring expiation number more than three. Yet in his insistence that we first heal ourselves, King remains today the prophet we ignore at our peril. That Barack Obama should fail to realize this qualifies as not only ironic but inexplicable.
I don't have all the memories of the mid-1960's when LBJ was wrestling with a similar issue regarding the number of troops in Vietnam, but I have certainly read the history books and his decision, we all know now, was greatly flawed. I pray that Obama doesn't repeat history along the lines of LBJ.
I suspect that it is time for the next greatest generation to stand up and say NO to anymore military excursions halfway around the world. By the way, that generation are the young adults of today's Millennials. It's time to say NO, especially if you are a progressive--NO to War as the solution to the world's problems.
Take a look around and see what is happening to our nation and maybe it's time for another Peace Generation to rise up and tell our elders--you've got it wrong, once again!
