Today I Remember

Today I remember all those who have met senseless and violent ends at the hands of those who signed up for honour and esteem in the eyes of their countrymen.

Today I remember all those who have been murdered for the crime of being born on the wrong side of arbitrarily drawn lines on maps.

Today I remember that “serving your country” is a necessary euphemism, since the more accurate “joining an organization that intimidates and kills people from other countries” doesn’t have the same ring to it.

Today I remember that we still cling to the idea that it is honourable rather than barbarous to enlist in an organization whose purpose is to extort and possibly murder those who are weaker than you.

Today I remember that many men and women in the armed services must cling to the idea that their brand of inhumanity is officially sanctioned and honoured in order to sleep at night. I feel pity for their plight.

Today I remember that the future peace of God has broken into the present in Christ, meaning that we can hope for a future where the armies of the earth shall be no more. There will be no more war, nor instruments of war. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things will pass away.

5 responses to “Today I Remember”

  1. For the first three and some centuries of Christianity, no one in the Church would have to point this out. But now we do. Thanks for doing so.

  2. yeah, thanks matt, very well said. i find myself moved by the way in which remembering itself, when it is done in contrary directions than those that the state sanctions, is intrinsic solidarity with those who find themselves weak. of course it is not just remembering, but the vocalizing of that ‘other’ memory.

    my friend reminded me yesterday that though remembrance is cast as remembering the too-young dead (and for many it is this), it is more often a call to remember a whole series of war-events in a certain way, to serve present national identity interests.

  3. @joel Exactly – remembrance day “proper” is much more about trying to ground the mythos of the state in concrete events than it is about honouring soldiers. We must remember, but remember differently.

WordPress Default is proudly powered by WordPress

Entries (RSS) and Comments (RSS).