FolkBlog

A guest post by Andy Whitman. You may recognize the name if you’re a reader of Paste Magazine. This was posted to an online music and faith discussion list.

“Do I not destroy my enemies when I make them my friends?” — Abraham Lincon

What if …What if we, as individuals, as a nation, took Jesus’ command to love our enemies seriously? What if we actually believed it and did it?

Would it make a difference? Could it make a difference? Could it actually break the cycle of violence and permanently end the senseless killing? Or is that all just a naive, idealistic pipedream, the product of some sort of confused Christian/Woodstock ideology that has no basis in the real world?

Because, after all, we must be realists. There are people out there who hate us, and not very cordially at that, who fly airplanes into towers and who would do that, and much more, again if given the opportunity.

But what if, just for argument’s sake, we chose to humble ourselves and address the grievances that cause the violence against us? What if we actually paid attention to stupid rock stars like Bono, who has campaigned tirelessly through organizations like DATA for debt cancellation, AIDS relief, and social justice for the impoverished continent of Africa? What if he’s right that it makes sense to do so not only for altruistic reasons, but also for strategic reasons, and that by saving these decaying nations now before they become hotbeds of radical, violent extremism, we bring not just charity but true justice that will stop fires from ever starting? What if he’s right?

It’s ridiculous, but bear with me. What if we stopped looking out for our best interests and actually started acting like we cared about the rest of the world? What if we actually worked to bring peace and justice to the Palestinian/Israeli crisis, to remove our oppressive influence in the Middle East so the people can plot their own destiny, to lower our dependence on Middle Eastern oil so that our strategic decisions will be governed less by our need for fuel and more by our concern for the welfare of human beings?

What if we started acting like Christians?

“If my people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.”

What if we really don’t have a choice? What if it truly does come down to love or be killed? Would we do it? Would we even have the moral wherewithal, as a nation, to debate the issue from the standpoint of the Christian principles we claim to embody? We have the resources. We have the ability. But do we have the will? Unless we radically change and take on the true challenge, I fear, no, I know, that more towers will burn and more innocent lives will be lost. Build ‘em up and knock ‘em down, again and again, world without end until it ends, Amen.

But humble ourselves? That’s a good one. Did you hear the one about the Christian fool who actually thought that humility in government was a virtue?

“I wanna have our baby

Some days I think that maybe

This ol’ world’s too fucked up

For any firstborn son

There is all this untouched beauty

The light the dark both running through me

Is there still redemption for anyone?

Jesus comeTurn the world around

Lay my burden down

Turn this world around

Bring the whole thing down

Bring it down

Bring it down”– Over the Rhine, “Changes Come”

–Andy