First, a handful of my family members and friends, all of whom I respect and love, serve in various branches of the United States military. Most, if not all of them would call themselves Christian. One of these men, with whom I've discussed Bonhoeffer and Christian pacifism, posted on his Facebook wall the video which follows the break. I caution against watching the video, which I would classify as "military porn." I reluctantly did so and became very sad at first and then furious at the end, when I heard the quote: "We've all been taught 'Thou shall not kill.' Now hear this: Fuck that shit." Wow. At least they're honest.
I realize that the U.S. military is vast and contains multitudes of views and commitments on any number of issues and topics. (All, though, are united in their allegiance to the U.S. and their willingness to lay down their lives for its maintenance and prosperity.) So while it is a temptation for me to attribute the message of this video uncritically to my friends and family who serve (or have served) in the military, I'm consciously not doing so. In other words, I don't assume they share the same sentiments contained especially in the final statement. They, like me, may find that statement offensive. (At least I hope they do.)
Next, I saw a link from a Christian pacifist friend of mine, directing me to a story on the treatment of Bradley Manning, the young U.S. Army soldier arrested for leaking sensitive military documents via WikiLeaks (something I blogged about last fall). Here's the story:
Bradley Manning and the stench of US hypocrisy - guardian.co.uk - Ryan GallagherManning is allegedly being subjected to what amounts to be torture right here in the fine commonwealth of Virginia, and under a president whose campaign rhetoric contained strong condemnations of such treatment of "enemy combatants," much less American citizens.
The US condemns human rights abuses abroad yet appears to be allowing the psychological torture of Bradley Manning
So here we have two related stories: one of military porn and one of military infidelity. Both implicitly express the gospel of America. The first a battle hymn, the second a cautionary tale to those who may dare to transgress the law of militaristic nationalism. In the military social imaginary there is no darker sin than Manning's and the punishment cannot be too severe, which we clearly see in his present treatment.
Periodically I see military family posting videos or pictures of their beloved spouses or children serving in harm's way, and they're usually nice videos, like soldiers playing soccer with Afghan children. Those are good to see and I don't want to downplay that. Yes, soldiers are human beings and they care about other human beings. But we also have to see and wrestle with the other stories such as the two above. Hopefully they startle us American Christians enough to seriously ponder how it's possible to declare Jesus as Lord and yet still find it conceivable, perhaps even noble and desirable, to participate in such insanity. It calls to mind the poem of Wilfred Owen, a veteran of World War I, entitled "Dulce Et Decorum Est," which closes with this:
My friend, you would not tell with such high zest
To children ardent (eager) for some desperate glory,
The old Lie; Dulce et Decorum est
Pro patria mori
(Latin: "it is sweet and right to die for your country")
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