It's Never As Simple...

Anti-IED drills improve, but not every soldier goes through them

Just a little rant about life, and the way we as a culture handle conflict - armed and/or philosophical/theological.

This is a perfect example of the fantastic mix of us as voters, our representatives, and the bureaucracy of the military's upper brass, all working in perfect chaos. As I was reading this, I was going over in my head all the different people whom readers would try and blame, depending on their political and/or religious views. Yet, it's never as simple as blaming just one person/group. I could blame the Army brass because they keep their heads in the sand in the Pentagon instead of listening to those on the ground in Iraq/Afghanistan. I'd like to, since they're the ones sending my sister overseas and jerking her around. I could blame the president, since he's the one who's ultimately responsible for all this mess. I could blame Congress for a host of different reasons. Let's go back farther. Who didn't do the job when he had a better chance? Clinton? How about Bush, Sr.? Yet, through it all, we, as voters, tend to forget that much (not all, I know) of the blame needs to rest right back on us. Who voted those folks in to office? Who didn't vote at all? Who told our representative or senator to vote no on tax increases? After all, it could be argued quite reasonably that one of the reasons there isn't the money for this training is because there isn't the money to allocate... because we don't want to be taxed. Or maybe it's because we don't want to lose our social services (whether we need them or not). Maybe it's because we don't want to lose those services because we aren't prepared to step up and help our neighbor, and would rather the government do it so I don't have to get my hands dirty or smell their stink, or whatever the reason. I'm not pointing fingers, I'm just voicing my frustration at both those who try and politicize all this w/o looking back at themselves, and my frustration at myself, and my own lack of heart, Christ-likeness, and discipline to get the job done. Of course, there's also my/our selfishness, pride, and desire to not suffer pain, discomfort, or embarrassment. Then there's the issue that we can't do everything, so we struggle with what to get involved in and what not to (Do I help this guy get the votes because he'll try and stop abortion, or do I help this organization raise money because they're reaching out to the homeless, or do I send this missionary over seas so they can help transform a hurting people I'll never reach myself, or... ?) All these things play into this article... but most of us are simply content to say it's... [fill in the blank]'s fault. God, please forgive us for our duplicity and hypocrisy. God, please forgive me for my laziness and for not putting my actions into where your heart is... wherever that may lead. God, please guide our leaders, from the president and Congress to our local county and city. Help them to make wise decisions. Please guide us in how we're to be your hands and feet, loving people, even those who hate us and desire to kill us, while somehow defending ourselves.