War in Iraq---What should we give up for Lent this year?????
US Cost of War in Iraq: $250,000,000,000 and counting...
Civilian Casualities in the thousands--no one knows for sure...
US Military Casualties: 2302 +
Iraqi Military Casualities: ?????
posted by Diocese of San Jose at
1:07 AM
2 Comments:
In the past three years:
32,600 Iraqi civilians killed
1,900 Iraqi police killed
3,200 US soldiers killed.
Sounds awful, doesn't it.
Now, let's take off our media blinders for a few minutes and take a look at some other numbers.
In the past three years:
120,000 Americans died in auto accidents
45,000 Americans died as the result of a fall
27,000 Americans died from poisoning
12,000 Americans died from drowning
The rate of military deaths in Iraq is the lowest of any US military campaign in history. This is a magnificent success.
Now, how about those mass graves discovered in Iraq? Those innocent lives taken brutally at the hands of an evil dictator? Where is your outrage against that? Do you not care about those lives?
Think about this before dismissing it. Challenge yourself to form an opinion based not on emotion, but on facts. It's important.
By
eweu, At
12:14 AM
Decisions based on facts not emotion- I think Pilate did that. So did the Sadducees. One dies for the many. Yes, that is part of our legacy.
But the question need not be a dualistic one of fact versus emotion. As Christians we are called to be whole human beings - heart and mind united with Christ, n'est-ce pas? The truth is that it is impossible to know the facts on this side of the ocean where all of our information is at the mercy of others with their own agendas.
We are called to see Jesus in every human face. And if we do that, how can we presume we know what is best for another? The Iraqi people deserve the opportunity to create their own future without interference, just as the United States fought its own bloody Civil War not that long ago from a World History perspective. How do we humbly call another group of people "evil" when our country is equally responsible for the effective genocide of the Native American peoples, slavery for hundreds of years, the internment of Japanese American citizens during WWII, etc?
The question is really one of priorities. The Iraqi situation is not unique in the world. Near genocide has occurred in many lands, and we have barely lifted our voice let alone a finger. The fact is that we are sinking billions of dollars into killing people, bombing infrastructure, and then rebuilding it, while millions go to bed hungry each day. What are we communicating about American values when we only respond to human rights violations in "oil country?" Coincidence? I think not.
By
Anonymous, At
2:01 PM
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