After reading Keith Graber Miller’s excellent essay in the summer 2007 edition of Bulletin, I went to the dictionary to make certain I knew the meaning of patriotism and pacifism. Webster’s Ninth New Collegiate Dictionary provides these definitions:
pa-tri-o-tism n : love for or devotion to one’s country
pac-i-fism n : opposition to war or violence as a means of settling disputes
Miller thoughtfully lays out the desires of a Mennonite pacifist and asks if Mennonites can be patriots. The only problem is pacifism and patriotism cannot coexist. Pacifism perceives utopian ideals as attainable goals that would bring peace on earth. If the only requirements for peace were good thoughts, positive vibes, and international awareness and creativity, pacifism, and its twin sister liberalism, would be universal yardsticks to measure how well a person, state, or country is participating in making the world a better place. Contrast that with patriotism, which evaluates whatever situation is presented and determines the best response to defend and protect the land and the people who inhabit it, whether through peaceful means or use of force.
Looking back to the founders of our country and its government reveals devout men seeking God’s blessing upon the nation they were about to establish. These men were not spoiling for a fight – they simply wished to be left alone to work, worship God, live life, and pursue happiness. Their wisdom and foresight provided a military to protect that which was being established. To assume they would be unmolested in their attempt to break the bonds of England and form a new nation would have been naïve. The ensuing war cost many of the founders every material thing they had, including their lives. To the men who laid the foundations of this great nation, the hardships suffered and sacrifices made were counted a privilege in order to hand a strong and prosperous country to the next generation.
The United States has long practiced “redemptive violence” (point 3) to the benefit of the entire world. Since its inception, the US has been involved in no less than 24 major armed conflicts – the majority fought on foreign soil. We have gone to the assistance of countries that were either ruled or being overrun by fascists, tyrants and dictators, only to have these same countries turn their collective backs on us in our time of need. These countries are free today because of God’s sovereign will worked out in the sacrifice of US military men sent to fight and die for their freedom.
The US prevails in armed conflict by possessing a superior strength, will, firepower, and a willingness to use it. The current engagements would be over in short order if the US military and its allies would be allowed to exercise all of their capabilities unfettered and in full measure. What is missing is the collective will of the US citizens. If the revolutionary war, WW I or II were being fought in today’s political climate, we would either be having high tea at noon or speaking German or Japanese. The American people who lived through those wars had a sense of national unity that formed and strengthened their resolve to see the conflict through with victory being the only acceptable outcome. They supported the military and stood firm with their mission. They were not worried about political correctness or how the other side felt. And they most certainly did not concern themselves with what other countries thought. They were not spoiling for a fight, but accepted what was brought to them and responded accordingly. They wanted to be left alone to work, worship, live, and pursue happiness. A patriot gives thanks they fought to keep those freedoms.
Those hard-won freedoms have allowed the US to become the most generous nation in the history of the world. The US gave financial aid to approximately 150 countries in FY 2004. Countries in the Middle East received 14.789 billion dollars, or a full 38% of the foreign aid budgeted for that year. Perusing the statistics from the US Agency for International Development (www.usaid.gov) shows a staggering amount of dollars given (not loaned) to countries for FY 2006. The FY 2007 budget has increased those number substantially as the US economy continues to grow at an unheralded pace. The fact that the American people are taxed on just about every facet of their lives and still manage to contribute post-tax dollars to churches and charities speaks highly of their benevolence and good will.
Where dollars would not be the prudent first response, the US has sent its military around the world to help stop violence, not propagate it. To those being attacked and oppressed, military assistance is the most humanitarian response possible. If the media would report these facts, this great nation would be known not only for its militaristic reflexes, but for its enormous humanitarian generosity.
Yes the Department of Defense budget dwarfs every category listed with it. It should. Defending this country and its way of life is not a cheap venture. The prosperity the US enjoys is brought about by the blessing of God through the peace of a strong local, national, and international law enforcement. How would your life change if you had to worry about a dictator who could order you fed into a shredding machine for voicing political dissent? Would you be willing to commute to work if religious/political extremists habitually blew themselves up on buses and trains? Would you send your wife or daughters to the corner store knowing they may be abducted, tortured, raped, and/or killed for not being properly attired? What if your son was “recruited” and brain-washed for a suicide bombing mission? How secure would our financial markets be if the US were capable of being overthrown by our border countries to the north and south? (The south may be attempting this as I write, but that is another article.) We do not have to concern ourselves with those scenarios due to the strength of our local and national defense. To a patriot, it is worth every penny.
The US could close up shop and enter a mode of isolationism, but it doesn’t. Want to participate in commerce with the US? That’s terrific. Here are the terms. Need financial assistance? How much? Here you go. Experience some sort of catastrophe? Here are the best resources available to help, usually developed and deployed by the US military. Having a problem with an unruly neighboring country? Let us know how we can be of service. But please permit us to make a few simple requests: don’t bomb our embassies, don’t ram explosive laden pleasure boats into our ships at sea, don’t take non-military personnel as political hostages, decapitate them, and broadcast it on your national television stations, and don’t hijack planes full of innocent civilians and fly them into buildings while your citizens dance in the streets and hand out candy to children to celebrate. That’s not too much to ask, is it?
Former chief of the U.S. Army’s internal think tank General Richard Dunn was quoted in Miller’s article as having said “You can go and kill every one of the terrorists and hang bin Laden in front of the White House and you will not have solved the problem – and you probably have created hundreds of new terrorists.” Then keep killing them. Hunt them down, capture them, and exterminate them. In a polite society certain actions cause you to forfeit the privilege of breathing. When you willingly commit these acts you willingly choose to receive the consequences. It is a universal rule known as cause and effect.
Repulsed at that notion? Apply General Dunn’s logic to cancer. Try this: “You can go and kill every one of the cancer cells, and hang (whatever body part was affected by the cancer) in front of the hospital. But it will probably return.” What if the cancer does come back? Do you throw up your hands and say “Well, we tried”? Do you sit down and try to reason with and appease the cancer cells – “If we give you a kidney, will you promise not to come back?” Or do you mount another campaign, this one more radical than the last, and go after it again? Any fatal mutation, whether in the structure of a cell or the ideological structure of mankind, has to be eradicated. The radical entity serves no purpose other than to destroy its host. To a patriot, it simply cannot be permitted to exist.
Miller hopes the US and other countries will address the “roots of terrorism – poverty, gross economic disparity, imperialism, exploitation, injustice – rather than react only militarily.” These great progressive sounding words will stir the hearts of people given to protest rallies and marches in the street, but they do not line up with the findings of the March 2005 International Summit on Democracy, Terrorism, and Security held in Madrid, Spain. Two hundred of the world’s leading scholars and expert practitioners gathered together, representing the most informed judgment on the issue of democracy and terrorism to date. Wesleyan University’s Martha Crenshaw, coordinator of the Political Explanations working group stated:
“Explaining terrorism in terms of background conditions (social, economic, demographic, political, or cultural) is insufficient at best, and wrong at worst.”
The University of Maryland’s Ted Robert Gurr, coordinator of the Economic Factors workgroup found that “poverty per se is not a direct cause of terrorism.”
The major motivating factor for terrorism was discerned to be religious fundamentalism/ideology, and a desire for martyrdom. The followers of radical Islam who committed the atrocious acts of 9/11 were not poverty stricken, exploited, or suffering any injustice. They were well funded, well fed, well educated extremists, and according to the video tapes recorded before they killed more than 3000 people, fully cognizant of what they were going to do and why. They were not going to be talked out of their mission. No amount of reasoning was going to change their plans. Why Miller and those of his persuasion believe they can reason and understand and dialog and break bread and commune with those bent on our destruction defies logic. What do you say to someone committed to removing you from existence? How do you reason with a person so consumed with hate (and the promise of 72 virgins by dying a “martyr’s death”) they are willing to destroy themselves and complete strangers who have done them no wrong? Where does a believer in Christ find common ground with a cult as warped as Islam? When do you say “Enough is enough!” and start resisting those who would kill you in the name of their “religion”?
Radical Islamic extremists do not want understanding. They do not want to get along. They do not want to play well with others. They do not want to talk. They have no room for compromise. They simply want to convert the non-Muslim world to their religious view and practice, or they want to kill the infidels. That’s it. There is no plan B. Unless the citizens of whatever country the terrorists target are willing to comport with Sharia law, they will be systematically destroyed by whatever means necessary. It is taught to the children, read from the Koran, and shouted by the teachers of Islam – “Death to America! Death to Israel! Kill the infidels!”
Miller also calls for “more international awareness and creativity.” I’m not quite sure how much more aware the international community can be. This short list of attacks on American interests is taken from infoplease.com :
1983
April 18, Beirut, Lebanon: U.S. embassy destroyed in suicide car-bomb attack; 63 dead, including 17 Americans. The Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility.
Oct. 23, Beirut, Lebanon: Shiite suicide bombers exploded truck near U.S. military barracks at Beirut airport, killing 241 marines. Minutes later a second bomb killed 58 French paratroopers in their barracks in West Beirut.
Dec. 12, Kuwait City, Kuwait: Shiite truck bombers attacked the U.S. embassy and other targets, killing 5 and injuring 80.
1984
Sept. 20, east Beirut, Lebanon: truck bomb exploded outside the U.S. embassy annex, killing 24, including 2 U.S. military.
Dec. 3, Beirut, Lebanon: Kuwait Airways Flight 221, from Kuwait to Pakistan, hijacked and diverted to Tehran. 2 Americans killed.
1985
April 12, Madrid, Spain: Bombing at restaurant frequented by U.S. soldiers, killed 18 Spaniards and injured 82.
June 14, Beirut, Lebanon: TWA Flight 847 en route from Athens to Rome hijacked to Beirut by Hezbollah terrorists and held for 17 days. A U.S. Navy diver executed.
Oct. 7, Mediterranean Sea: gunmen attack Italian cruise ship, Achille Lauro. One U.S. tourist killed. Hijacking linked to Libya.
Dec. 18, Rome, Italy, and Vienna, Austria: airports in Rome and Vienna were bombed, killing 20 people, 5 of whom were Americans. Bombing linked to Libya.
1986
April 2, Athens, Greece: A bomb exploded aboard TWA flight 840 en route from Rome to Athens, killing 4 Americans and injuring 9.
April 5, West Berlin, Germany: Libyans bombed a disco frequented by U.S. servicemen, killing 2 and injuring hundreds.
1988
Dec. 21, Lockerbie, Scotland: N.Y.-bound Pan-Am Boeing 747 exploded in flight from a terrorist bomb and crashed into Scottish village, killing all 259 aboard and 11 on the ground. Passengers included 35 Syracuse University students and many U.S. military personnel. Libya formally admitted responsibility 15 years later (Aug. 2003) and offered $2.7 billion compensation to victims' families.
1993
Feb. 26, New York City: bomb exploded in basement garage of World Trade Center, killing 6 and injuring at least 1,040 others. In 1995, militant Islamist Sheik Omar Abdel Rahman and 9 others were convicted of conspiracy charges, and in 1998, Ramzi Yousef, believed to have been the mastermind, was convicted of the bombing. Al-Qaeda involvement is suspected.
1995
April 19, Oklahoma City: car bomb exploded outside federal office building, collapsing wall and floors. 168 people were killed, including 19 children and 1 person who died in rescue effort. Over 220 buildings sustained damage. Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols later convicted in the antigovernment plot to avenge the Branch Davidian standoff in Waco, Tex., exactly 2 years earlier. (See Miscellaneous Disasters.)
Nov. 13, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia: car bomb exploded at U.S. military headquarters, killing 5 U.S. military servicemen.
1996
June 25, Dhahran, Saudi Arabia: truck bomb exploded outside Khobar Towers military complex, killing 19 American servicemen and injuring hundreds of others. 13 Saudis and a Lebanese, all alleged members of Islamic militant group Hezbollah, were indicted on charges relating to the attack in June 2001.
1998
Aug. 7, Nairobi, Kenya, and Dar es Salaam, Tanzania: truck bombs exploded almost simultaneously near 2 U.S. embassies, killing 224 (213 in Kenya and 11 in Tanzania) and injuring about 4,500. 4 men connected with al-Qaeda 2 of whom had received training at al-Qaeda camps inside Afghanistan, were convicted of the killings in May 2001 and later sentenced to life in prison. A federal grand jury had indicted 22 men in connection with the attacks, including Saudi dissident Osama bin Laden, who remained at large.
2000
Oct. 12, Aden, Yemen: U.S. Navy destroyer USS Cole heavily damaged when a small boat loaded with explosives blew up alongside it. 17 sailors killed. Linked to Osama bin Laden, or members of al-Qaeda terrorist network.
2001
Sept. 11, New York City, Arlington, Va., and Shanksville, Pa.: hijackers crashed 2 commercial jets into twin towers of World Trade Center; 2 more hijacked jets were crashed into the Pentagon and a field in rural Pa. Total dead and missing numbered 2,9921: 2,749 in New York City, 184 at the Pentagon, 40 in Pa., and 19 hijackers. Islamic al-Qaeda terrorist group blamed.
2002
June 14, Karachi, Pakistan: bomb exploded outside American consulate in Karachi, Pakistan, killing 12. Linked to al-Qaeda.
2003
May 12, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia: suicide bombers killed 34, including 8 Americans, at housing compounds for Westerners. Al-Qaeda suspected.
2004
May 29–31, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia: terrorists attack the offices of a Saudi oil company in Khobar, Saudi Arabia, take foreign oil workers hostage in a nearby residential compound, leaving 22 people dead including one American.
June 11–19, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia: terrorists kidnap and execute Paul Johnson Jr., an American, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. 2 other Americans and BBC cameraman killed by gun attacks.
Dec. 6, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia: terrorists storm the U.S. consulate, killing 5 consulate employees. 4 terrorists were killed by Saudi security.
2005
Nov. 9, Amman, Jordan: Suicide bombers hit 3 American hotels, Radisson, Grand Hyatt, and Days Inn, in Amman, Jordan, killing 57. Al-Qaeda claimed responsibility.
2006
Sept. 13, Damascus, Syria: an attack by four gunmen on the American embassy was foiled.
2007
Jan. 12, Athens, Greece: the U.S. embassy was fired on by an anti-tank missile causing damage but no injuries.
Do a Google search for lists of attacks on other countries and you would most likely be able to publish a small book of incidents that would underscore the nature of the threat faced by those opposed to the ideologies of the terrorists. If the international community is unaware of or has forgotten these things, it is to their collective shame. They would simply need to review the broadcast tapes of planes full of innocent civilians being flown into the World Trade Center towers by Muslim radicals, and memories of that day may come back to them. If those tapes would be shown on a frequent basis, the world would understand the urgency and dedication the military and its leaders have in the current conflict.
But the question still remains: can Mennonites by patriots? It is possible, but it would take a determined and concerted effort. The Mennonite patriot would need to read Romans 13:1-7 and understand how the role of a secular government is different from the role of the Christian. The Mennonite patriot would have to accept and embrace the role his country plays on the world stage. The Mennonite patriot would need to develop a love for his country while he lives, and look forward to the Country that is to come when he dies. The Mennonite patriot would need to accept the sovereignty of God and believe He still rules in the affairs of men. Finally, the Mennonite patriot would need to cast down the false god of world peace and recognize the consequence of sin dictates the need for campus security guards, local and state law enforcement, a national defense, and military responses to world conflicts. Peace on Earth will not be brought about by hymn sings, quilting, potluck dinners or protest rallies. Peace on Earth will only come when the Prince of Peace returns to establish His rule and reign. Isaiah 11:6 and Revelation 21:3-4 will come to pass; swords will be beaten into plowshares, and there will be no need to study war. Until then, a patriot thanks God for America, and prays that God will continue to bless the USA.
