A Blog Before I New What A Blog Was: War

The following is a letter I wrote before I new what a blog was. I felt I should post it.

March 23, 2003

 Friends,

 The past two evenings I have watched the movies, “Windtalkers” and “We Were Soldiers,” respectively. I myself have never experienced war; for I am only 22 years of age, and this is the first war I am of age to be a part of. Through these movies and others preceding I have gotten a glimpse of the horror of war. More so from the two movies I have cited. Before when I viewed a movie similar to “We Were Soldiers”, it was a fairy tale to me, another story for my entertainment pleasure. With recent events these movies are no longer stories to me. Through our ever changing society, our ever changing moral values, and the technology of today we have created depiction of war that are more real than we have ever experienced. So real that we get a sense of the tragedy war really is.

We grow up learning in school about war through books and documentary videos that are cold and lifeless. Presented as facts—numbers and names in a time that happened before us. Taught mostly by people who don’t know war any better than we do ourselves.

Now we are in war. I watch these movies and tremble at the thought that some of our fellow men and women are going through what I have seen in these movies. For what I have seen represents hell to me. War is of sin—the root of all evil. War is a place where nations of people come together to kill each other because they disagree. War is a place where nations of people comet together because of one leader’s greed for power or his/her vision of utopia. War is a place of failure. Failure to do what is just, right, and humane by our fellow man, failure to love.

Whether we agree or disagree with our fellow man it is our responsibility to love one another as ourselves. But alas, we are human. We constantly fall short of the glory of God. We lie. We cheat. We steel. We murder. We commit adultery. We go to war.

With this said I pray to God. God, forgive us as we have once again failed you. Please Lord, have mercy upon us. Watch over us as well as our enemies as we fight with one another defending against what we believe to be wrong, or as in our enemies’ case, a misguided leadership. I pray that decisions are made to keep casualties at a minimum. Console those who have already lost loved ones to war. As well as those who will. Lord neither you nor I wish the disease of war upon anyone. But by choices made by men in the mist of there sin, we have engulfed ourselves in it. May it end quickly, Lord. I pray this in your son’s holly and precious name, Jesus Christ. Amen