A sad Christian General

For years I was blessed to look at the painting entitled, "The Christian General" by William L. Maughan. It is a picture of General Lee reading the Holy Bible as a sleeping child rest peacefully on his lap. Robert E. Lee, a graduate of the US Military Academy and leader of the Confederate Armies, was a remarkable human being, who spoke many wise proverbs in his life.

None more wiser than what he said on December 13, 1862. Pondering the Battle of Fredericksberg, General Lee said, "It is well that war is so terrible, or we should grow fond of it." Do you think the politicians in Washington believe war is so terrible? What about the neo-brown shirts called the Christian Coalition or anti war zealots of the sixties? Have they all become fond of war? One would think so with recent actions.

Our nation during the last quarter of the twentieth century and into the present one, has become the "champion of freedom" at home and abroad. My heart pounds with pride when we send troops to defend freedom, whether it is in Birmingham, Detroit, Berlin, Bagdad or wherever. I took an oath to serve those causes and defend the nation against all tyrannies that threaten our freedom.

But recently, and I mean the last thirty years, the leaders of this nation seem to have forgotten why we send men and women to war. Their primary reason seems to be capitalistic gains or oil. Now I know all wars have a capitalistic undertone, but it should not be the primary focus.

With all of the wars being fought on our beautiful planet, why are we choosing to get involved in a religious war, that has been going on since the fall of Constantinople? If we are going to send peace keeping troops into every Muslim country, shouldn't we also send them into Ireland, South Africa, China, Korea, Thailand, etc.? Are we really getting involved to protect freedom, religion or our nation's security and financial interest?

I believe places like Bosnia and Iraq are good marketplaces for our military industrialist. We declare we are there to maintain peace and in the same breath announce we can now sell arms to the Muslims. The people of Bosnia even look like Mr and Mrs Middle America, so the war was easier to sell to our citizenry. Let's face it selling Asians or Blacks as victims of anything is a hard sell in this country.

Bosnia was also close to our economic and ancestral roots. We still fall all over European Royalty no matter how ridiculous they behave. It also is close to the cradle of what we call civilization - Greece and The Fertile Crescent of civilization . The roots of many of our religious organizations come out of these neighboring regions. Yes, Bosnia and our religious geography are an easy sell to Americans.

It was and is a win win situation. It was and is easy to sell. It is good for our industrial manufactures. After all we are the largest producers of killing machines. It could be a prolonged market surge. Television can help it be perpetuated and more and more war products will be consumed in the name of peace. My fellow military officers will benefit as they did in Vietnam. Nam was a two promotion tour. Nam was a down payment on a new home, thanks to combat pay.

Yes Bosnia and the Fertile Crescent are much better places to be involved in a war. People are really growing fond of the idea. How that must sadden the "Christian General" I saw on my wall for so many years..