Soldier holding his baby daughter on return from deployment in Iraq, Photo by Martin Greeson, Source US Army (ID 070302-A-2403G-005), (PD-USGov-Military-Army)
“When Johnny comes marching home again,
Hurrah! Hurrah!
We’ll give him a hearty welcome then
Hurrah! Hurrah!”– When Johnny Comes Marching Home
With the Iraq War officially ended and the United States involvement in the Afghan Civil War winding down, our troops are returning home in large numbers.
Having handled both the violence of war and the repeated loss of friends, our marines, soldiers, and airmen must now face the obstacles posed by ordinary life. This means dialing back on their razor sharp instinct for self-preservation, and resuming the humdrum routines of the everyday world.
For a great many veterans, it will, also, mean dealing with survivor’s guilt and the nightmares, flashbacks, insomnia, depression, family and employment problems often characterizing Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.
This is no small task for warriors trained to assess situations in an instant and act appropriately, at peril of their lives. But experience responding to danger and overcoming chaos uniquely suits these capable men and women for service and rescue work.
Across the country, veterans groups are forming which provide disaster relief, teach, build homes, assist with farming, and take on other tasks for their communities and their more seriously wounded comrades. Read more…
“...[A] wolf of the deserts shall destroy them…” (Jeremiah 5: 6).
Riots were feared this summer when Pope Francis chose to visit a slum in northern Rio de Janeiro during a trip to Argentina. Despite an $85 billion auto bailout from Washington, Motown has filed for bankruptcy. More municipal bankruptcies are likely, effecting city services, bonds, and government pension funds.
Survey data [1] exclusive to the Associated Press now indicates 4 in every 5 Americans will, at some point in their lives, face “economic insecurity”. Most of us will, in other words, have to confront extended joblessness, reliance on government aid and/or incomes below the poverty line. One in 10 American children already lives in a neighborhood with a poverty rate of 30% or more. Read more…
Photo by Abhisit Vejjajiva, Photographer to the Prime Minister of Thailand, Source Flickr (CC BY 2.0 Generic)
You drive north as large, sloppy drops begin to strike your windshield. You turn on the wipers. Perhaps you are heading to a job you hate that pays the family bills. Or perhaps you are hurrying home to a sick child, tension in your neck and shoulders.
The road becomes slick. The rain falls harder. You turn the wipers up, so that they oscillate faster. Back and forth, back and forth – a hypnotic rhythm. The windows begin to fog, and you lean forward to check that the defrost is on.
Or maybe you drive south, trying to outrun an argument. East or west, the direction hardly matters. It is the destination that counts. And all the while the wipers keep pulsing. Clearing the windshield. Allowing you to see forward, even as daylight fades.
It is our destination that matters. Are we heaven bound, headed toward Christ? If not, whatever our direction may be, we are lost. Read more…
Book of Kells, Folio 292r, Incipit to John, In the begInning was the Word (“In principio verbum”), (PD-ArtlPD-old-100)
“No one calls for justice, nor does any plead for truth. They trust in empty words and speak lies…” (Isaiah 59: 4).
During the Middle Ages the Catholic Church considered it a duty to protect Scripture against the destruction of barbarian conquest, and the chaos of societal collapse following the downfall of the Roman Empire. Illuminated manuscripts like the richly illustrated Book of Kells were the result. With the greatest of care, monks crafted visual treasures, preserving literacy (and arguably civilization), in the process.
We seem at such a juncture in history. Now the threat is not from barbarian hoards, but from ignorance, and a fascination with death and dark forces. The paranormal has been legitimized; ignorance is disguised as quasi-scientific inquiry, passed off as history. Read more…
“Then Tamar put ashes on her head, and tore her robe of many colors that was on her, and laid her hand on her head and went away crying bitterly” (2 Sam. 13: 19).
For those who may not be familiar with the Bible story, Tamar, a daughter of King David, was raped by her brother, Amnon. She was denied justice.
The Middle East has not made a great deal of progress since then. Over 180 rapes have taken place in Tahrir Square while the world watches. The possibility of justice for these victims remains remote.
As many as 30 to 100 men will isolate a woman, then violate her with their hands, literally tearing the clothing off her back. Women may be beaten with chains, chairs, and other objects while being raped. The genitals of some women have been cut.
Public violence against women has been a problem in Egypt before. Read more…
Work Leads to Freedom (“Arbeit Macht Frei”)
Sign at the entrance to Dachau Concentration Camp, Photo by Dorsm365
“Hear, O Israel: the Lord our God, the Lord is One!” (Deut. 6: 4).
The witnesses to the Holocaust are passing away. Lies are already being circulated that the Holocaust was a fiction.
Witness to History
In an effort to combat these falsehoods, the testimony of Holocaust survivors is being recorded to preserve the evidence of history. The testimony of one such survivor, Abraham Secemski, can be found on You Tube at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=echUqImqB9c. It is riveting. Read more…
Nineteen elite firefighters ranging in age from 21 to 43 were killed last week in an Arizona blaze. This post is dedicated to them.
Firefighter, Cleveland National Forest, Photo by Calforester (CC BY-SA 3.0 Unported, GFDL 1.2 or later)
God’s creation is stunning in its beauty and complexity. Fire, for instance, serves a purpose in nature we are only now beginning to understand.
The beauty of God’s creation extends to the best aspects of man’s character. The devotion and self-sacrifice of firefighters is amazing. “Smoke jumpers” actually enjoy their work!
However, human efforts by themselves are inadequate – whether to control fire in the natural world, or bridge the spiritual chasm between God and man. Read more…
Bald Eagle in Flight, Photo by Carole Robertson (“Mandcrobertson”), (CC BY-SA 3.0 Unported)
Eagles are powerful birds, capable of flying to heights of 15,000 feet or more. They can achieve speeds of 30-35 mph in flight. Adults have a seven foot wingspan. Fierce and strong, eagles are not afraid to share rising thermals with hang gliders.
The bald eagle was selected as the emblem of the United States in 1782 when the Great Seal was adopted. That a great nation would choose such a symbol is understandable. How we — who struggle with daily trials, large and small — might gain wings like those of eagles is more difficult to comprehend. Read more…
Tombstones at Arlington National Cemetery, Author Andrew Bossi (CC BY-SA 2.5 Generic)
The “greatest generation” is a term journalist, Tom Brokaw, popularized in his book by the same name. The term refers to the men and women raised during the Depression who went on to fight World War II, in great and obscure battlefields across the globe and on the home front.
That generation, rapidly fading now, was defined by the obstacles it faced. Too often, the generations since – however we may label them – have been defined by self-indulgence, greed, apathy, and the harm they will leave behind.
Wars may be won or lost by weapons and generals. Those with servicemen and servicewomen in their families know it is the corporals and privates who bleed. They are standing guard in nameless locations even now. Ever vigilant, willing to give their lives for ours. Read more…
America’s birthday is not far off. This one will be her 237th. She can’t plead the ignorance of youth as a defense any longer. Has she just settled into the malaise – read political gridlock – of middle age or is she past her prime? Have the ideals on which she was founded been abandoned as childish and unrealistic? It very nearly seems that way sometimes.
First Amendment
Extensive phone records of the Associated Press have been seized by the Justice Department. No irony there. The phone and online traffic of millions of ordinary Americans have been similarly monitored, if not mined for content by the National Security Agency. We are informed this impingement on privacy is necessary, if Americans are to remain safe from terrorism. Who will safeguard us from tyranny is a different matter.
Another of the government’s most powerful agencies, the Internal Revenue Service, admittedly delayed the processing of nonprofit applications based upon their political affiliation. While it now seems there was no express directive to this effect from the White House, the course of action was evidently undertaken without a second thought by those engaged in it.
Complicated World
No doubt about it, this is a complicated world. With credible evidence of the use of chemical weapons by President Bashar al-Assad against his own people in the Syrian civil war, America will be arming anti-government forces. Who may ultimately gain access to such weapons is uncertain. Weapons America provided to aid the Afghans in repelling their Soviet occupiers later fell into the hands of the Taliban. Read more…
A Lawyer's Prayers 