http://www.foxnews.com/us/2010/10/21/vets-stand-guard-christian-flag-nc-town-1551201310/
This article brought to mind some interesting questions and thoughts that I was turning over in my head. I wanted to share some of my understanding here. The article speaks of a man who is standing vigil to keep a Christian flag in its 'place', over a war memorial. Symbols run very deep within people and this can be clearly seen in this case. What the flag means not only to the veteran standing vigil but also the entire community which has moblized behind him is what is the driving force behind this movement. This symbol contains a meaning which penetrates the collective psyche of this North Carolina community. When a force attempts to remove it from its 'place', it produces this collective response.
An interesting quote from the article:
"The relatively obscure emblem has become omnipresent because of one place it can't appear: flying above a war memorial in a public park."
So what is the meaning of this Christian flag to these people? Does it mean the same thing to everyone or is everyone uniting for a personal reason within themselves? What does it say about what these people believe about division of church and state? Can church and state truly be divided in the hearts of people? There is a deep link in the hearts of some people here between the soldiers and their religion. The religion, serving many times as a source of inspiration, hope, and inner peace amidst a war.
"The protesters are concerned not only about the flag...but about a metal sculpture nearby depicting a soldier kneeling before a cross."
When these soldiers went to war for the 'state', what role did religion play? Did it provide a higher meaning and reason to fight than what loyalty to the 'state' provided? Did religion provide a means of inner meaning and strength to move on in life after the war for these soldiers, more so than what the idea of service to the 'state' provided? Was it a mix of both of these ideas, 'state' and 'church', that has been a source of meaning and strength? If so, can 'church' and 'state' truly be divided if it is not divided within the hearts of people?
Another point which was interesting in this article was that the resident who complained about the flag was a veteran of the Afghanistan War. This perhaps brings to light the difference in the beliefs and views of the Vietnam War Vets and Veterans of the Afghanistan war. One cannot make a broad generalization, given that it was a single Afghan vet who made the complaint, but nonetheless it does make one wonder.
I'll conclude with one last quote from the article:
"I won't let it fall," Martini said. "I have already told the city, before you can take it down, I'll tie myself to it and you can cut me down first."
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2 comments:
North Carolina, like other states in the former Confederacy, contain a high population of people who believe that the barrier separating church and state should be lower than it is. Imagine the outrage if Christianity was not the dominant faith in the United States. How would those same people react to a different religious flag flying in their veterans' cemeteries?
Soldiers in the Unites States military have a federal job to protect and defend the constitution from all enemies, foreign and domestic. When they fight and die, they do so, not in the name of a particular God or faith, but in the name of the Country which they serve. They may have personal beliefs which involve religions but the wars that are fought are done so not as religious wars, but wars to protect national sovereignty.
If you are wondering why this is a good thing and why religious symbols like Christian flags should be discouraged at military memorials on public land, consider the Harper's article here.
http://www.harpers.org/archive/2009/05/0082488
You may not be able to read the entire article without a subscription but you get the idea from the first few paragraphs. When the religious beliefs of an individual become the primary motivator for a soldier, it ends up creating more problems than can possibly be listed here. Consider the Bible passages covering powerpoint slides presented to US soldiers before battle. Consider the overwhelming bias toward evangelicalism within chaplaincies on bases. The wars in the Muslim world are about protecting the national sovereignty of the Unites States and not about spreading Christianity. We can debate the legitimacy of the wars (I in fact have vehemently opposed the Iraq war) but the separation of church and state in all forms when it comes to the military should be strictly enforced.
Thanks for your comment, bro. I appreciate your input.
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