Jul 4, 2011
Freedom Can Be Preserved by Not Fighting
I grew up listening to the Star Spangled Banner before every hockey game in Philadelphia. Some wide-eyed local opera star was shuffled into the smoke-filled Spectrum in a silly red cummerbund in order to sing about 2 minutes of a song that’s basically about kicking some British tail in the War of 1812 during the battle of Fort McHenry.
A limp British bombardment and ill-conceived charge gave Francis Scott Key all he needed to write a song that future generations would sing for many years to come… off key.
Wars are such complicated things. If you know anything about the history of British colonialism, it doesn’t take a lot of imagination to understand why the Americans who founded our country felt like they needed to break free from the mother ship. That being said, wars do not guarantee justice or freedom and certainly dehumanize all sides involved.
Whether or not you believe our nation’s most recent wars in Iraq or Afghanistan were just, the high suicide rate of returning soldiers and PTSD should certainly remind us that war is never a black and white matter of good and evil. Even the “victors” suffer loss in some regards—a point that should give us pause before we send our soldiers into any armed conflict.
As we celebrate the independence of America and all of the wonderful things that have happened and will continue to happen because of our freedom, I think it’s helpful to remember that freedom doesn’t always have to be won by fighting for it.
We can also pursue freedom and peace through nonviolent means.
In other words, Jesus wasn’t full of it when he said, “Blessed are the peacemakers.” There really are blessings and benefits that come from not fighting.
When we take steps away from violence and conflict, we may be just as likely—possibly even more likely—to preserve freedom and peace. That isn’t to say that war is never off the table in a sinful world—that’s a matter I can’t even begin to address here.
However, we do ourselves a grave disservice if we only associate freedom and liberty with fighting.
Acts of nonviolence and demilitarization are equally important in the preservation of our freedom and liberty.
Many African Americans enjoy equality today because the Civil Rights Movement pursued freedom through nonviolent means.
Women enjoy the right to vote in addition to many other commonsense rights because many of them took to the streets to peacefully demand their rights.
While the Cuban Missile Crisis was a rather complicated affair, I think it bears mentioning that Kennedy chose to not escalate the conflict after a US spy plane was shot down.
While the American Revolution may have won independence from British colonial rule, there are plenty of other examples of freedom being preserved by those who bravely chose to not fight with weapons. These lovers of freedom left the world a better place, though they suffered much.
As we watch fireworks tonight, let’s remember that bombs are not the only path to freedom, liberty, and peace. Radical love can be explosive and powerful. If we forget that, we may be less free than we think.
I was talking to my wife about this issue yesterday, specifically about our neighbors up north. With Canada Day being July 1, it’s a stark contrast between the two days that signify freedom. One came a hundred years earlier, through warfare spread over a forty year period (Revolutionary War and War of 1812), and the other came through a peaceful act of the British Parliament. So much of the nation’s respective histories and demeanor can be associated with one country’s desire to wage war for freedom and the use of parliament in Canada to gain freedom (notwithstanding a few skirmishes and isolated rebellions).