A telltale sign of a nation bent on perpetual war, rather than using it as a means to an end, is the reluctance to actually allow peaceful negotiations. [/spp-transcript]This should be clear to all Americans after the hypocrisy from Vice President Mike Pence not acknowledging the temporarily unified Korea at the Olympic games. Of course, anyone focused on recent U.S. foreign policy has seen not only a reluctance but a push back from the U.S. against the Koreans handling any disputes among themselves.
In 1987, President Ronald Reagan delivered his famous “Tear down this wall!” speech. Even in the 1980’s, the U.S. was hardly the example of peace in the world, but as time goes by and history is smoothed out by soundbites, we are left with a few legitimate defining moments. For all the arguing to be had over the U.S. involvement in other countries, it should still be noted that there was an air of peace at the time. No matter the true intentions or method’s used, it is worth noting that the American people still desired peace and felt that their representatives where trying to accomplish that.
All of that came crashing down with two towers on September 11th, 2001. Among the debris lay the American people’s desire for peace. Vengeance and fear now thumped instep with the longtime war drumming of conductors within the White House and CIA. Americans do not desire peace, and on the off chance that the word enters back into their vocabulary, the definition has been twisted to mean submission through military dominance. This is where the union of fear and tangled definitions materializes, and not on accident or with good intentions. Military dominance over other countries has been the desire as our empire has grown its military spending to a Goliath proportion, in comparison with the rest of the world.
There was a time when Christians used the words empire and military dominance to hearken back to an agreed upon antagonist, the Roman Empire. Being that Christians saw the Roman Empire as the villain in the Gospel accounts of Christ, and the Acts of the Apostles, it was easy to apply a derogatory angle to all empires. Over the years however, we’ve slowly become used to a presence of empire, if not finding ourselves admitting to our approval of it. The illustration of the Armor of God has been flipped to focus on the armor of the hoplite rather than the gifts of God, and it may not be too long before its a camo BDU. The subconscious dominoes start to fall quickly when we see the dominance of our military over other countries as our protection; the wars as triumph over the wicked, the soldiers our angels, and the government and it’s military power as our god who has gone out before us.
Back home we sit comfortably until we are spurred into fearing the enemy. Currently we have many, but North Korea should be the most perplexing. Somehow we hold in our minds a picture of an idiotic leader, weak people, and a failed economy, that is simultaneously a threat to the largest military and economy in the world. Our pride is only seconded by our easily manipulated fear. People like Vice President Pence want you to think we are the linchpin to freedom and safety for the entire world, especially concerning North Korea. Not only is that false, it is gravely the opposite.
North Korea is, without a question, a horrible dictatorship, of which we should all hope the people are freed from. Unfortunately, as we nod to the war drumming, we are further convinced that war is the most effective way to that peace. The last time the U.S. went to war with the North Koreans, it wiped out 30% of their population. Not military; population. Let that sink in when you scoff at the idea that North Korea regularly propagandizes it’s people with the evils of the United States. War will not bring peace. The U.S. currently sanctions the country, on top of the militaristic threats. Sanctions are a war on the civilians. The North Koreans are indeed starving from a terrible economic system, but our own government rightfully takes credit for the deadly effectiveness of our sanctions. When we follow this trail of action taken against despots, we can become further and further entrenched in its effectiveness. But should we really stand in the way of two countries working it out by themselves? If we are actually concerned with protecting the South Koreans, we would do well to remember that they are essentially the same people on either side of the DMZ, and might have legitimate desires to reunite families rather than engage in a war against them.
This is the point that needs to be made clear when Christians support any sign of hostility towards a unification of Korea outside of our assumed and rabid militaristic jurisdiction. Do not cheer Pence or any other official that avoids peace except by what they think can be achieved through military pressure. We may not know what North Korea has planned, but we should be willing to hear out anything that doesn’t include murdering 30% of their population while still being unsuccessful at peace and liberation. This could very well be an opportunity for the Kim dynasty to step aside, much like the Japanese in World War 2 desired. Unfortunately, it appears that Americans would rather secure our pride and dominance through bombs, than to let someone else keep a little of there own.
If the U.S. was really focused on peace, this could be an opportunity for another historical speech of tearing down borders. Unfortunately it’s more about arms sales and boogeymen. Christians love what President Reagan said in the 80’s. Why wouldn’t we love to see the South Korean President standing on the DMZ and proclaim to Kim Jong Un to tear down the DMZ? Citizens of the world would be far safer if the vocabulary of the U.S. reclaimed peace and the understanding that it is not brought about by war.
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