upyerkilt wrote:Zurf,
I see all humans on this planet as equal, I try not to differentiate anyone even though that is hard not to.
No worries Ken. That was pretty much going to be the point of my message. We are all equal, and while some want to kill us and we are thereby obligated to prevent them from doing so, they are nevertheless equal to us as human beings. So, while I do see them as my enemies, and do not see a possibility of reconciliation with them meaning that they will remain my enemies, I do not hate them. I do believe in God, and I do believe that God loves everyone - even including my enemies. I further believe that in the instruction to love my enemies. Here, love is meant as a verb and not as a noun. When I say we should love our enemies, I do not mean that we should feel all mushy about them and want to kiss them. I mean we should treat them with respect and dignity even as we kill them. We ought not to kill them out of some sense of vengeance, because vengeance can never be satisfied. We ought not to kill them out of an emotional response of hatred, because hatred is self-perpetuating and breeds more hatred. We do need to recognize our enemies and prevent them from the harm they mean to do to us. We are entitled to that, merely by dint of having been born human. For the most part, and admitting a great deal of ignorance on the subject, and remembering a few notable exceptions, the U.S. and UK militaries have run just that sort of war. They have ferociously pursued and killed our enemies, while being kind and merciful to the non-combatant countrymen of our enemies. I am thinking here most specifically of Fallujah. Remember that? It was a known hideout of terrorists, but it was also known that the terrorists were embedding themselves through force into families and schools and hospitals, surrounding themselves with innocents. There were a couple of options. First, we could have gassed the town with flammable gas, carpet bombed it, then sent in bulldozers to flatten the rubble. We would have killed the terrorists, but we would also have killed everyone else. The second option was the one they did. They sent in Marines to knock down doors, find the terrorists, then shoot them. There were a lot of families angry that they didn't have doors any longer, and that the Marines were rough on them in front of their children. But the reality of it is that the Marines were risking themselves to save those people's lives. That is a terrific example of what I mean by "love our enemies."
- Zurf
Granted B chord amnesty by King of the Mutants (Long live the king).
If it comes from the heart and you add a few beers... it'll be awesome! - Mekidsmom
When in doubt ... hats. - B.G. Dude