Ft. Hood

A few things amaze me about Ft. Hood. (Before I start, however, let me say how my heart breaks for the folks who lost their lives, as well as for their families. I'm a military family member too and this hits close to home for me as well.)

1) Maj. Hasan walks into a base and kills 13 unarmed Americans, he's vile, a coward, hated, and people are calling for his head on a platter. Troops in Afghanistan kill 13 unarmed Afghans, it is barely even newsworthy. Why the disconnect? Why do lives matter, even to 'pro-life' Americans, only if they are American troop lives? (And sometimes, given the warmongering that so often comes from that contingent, I wonder if American troop lives even matter.)

2) I have heard from several news entities that Maj. Hasan experienced a bit of cognitive dissonance (if you want to call it that) over this country being at war in Muslim nations. He fought deployment to Iraq and tried to fight deployment to Afghanistan as well, because he did not want to be part of an invading force against Muslims (doesn't seem likely that he'd have been in direct combat ops but still part of the force). I hear this as if it's such a big deal. Shouldn't Christians refuse to take up arms against fellow Christians as well? (Really, I think Christians should refuse to take up arms period, as they did in the first 3 centuries after Christ, but that's a different story.)

3) I find it quite disturbing how the military in general operates toward its members. We who pride ourselves on the freedoms we have, for not feeling the need to go along with the 'sheeple', for some reason we have no problem with the government stripping our troops of the rights we shout and protest for in the streets. I have to wonder - had this man been able to switch positions or duty stations, like civilians can - would we be grieving as we are today? The whole way in which the military operates on the principle that they own their troops...it bothers me immensely.

4) I personally wish this man had deserted instead of killing people. Desertion isn't a pretty process and doesn't come without a price, but it's preferable to murder.

I found this on the blog God's Politics, and thought it to be one of the most well-thought-out responses to the insanity of the shooting and its aftermath.

As the facts continue to be revealed in this tragedy, Major Hasan will most definitely be the focus of an entire nation’s rage. Without a doubt, he will suffer the unforgiving wrath of public opinion. As the Church, I hope we can find it in ourselves to encourage our neighbors and friends to remember his humanity, however tarnished it has become, and extend to him what compassion we can muster. If we succumb to the temptation to hold malice and rage towards Major Hasan, we will, as John Howard Yoder might put it, become just another sociological reflection of the world and embody the message that there is truly nothing new about Christ. We have a beautiful opportunity, as Christ’s body, to show the world that hatred and scorn, and ultimately violence, does not have to have the last word. (link)