In Reply to: Re: Christian "Fundamentalists in US military? posted by Jo on December 16, 2006 at 17:54:30:
I think about our troops all the time.
Tonight I celebrated Christmas with my adult sons, their wives, and my adorable granddaughter. My sons are each very prosperous, college-educated engineers. I didn't encourage them to enlist when they finished high school, although they certainly thought about enlisting as a way of getting money for college. After 9/11, one of my sons talked seriously about joining the Army Corps of Engineers. I've always told them both that if they wanted to serve in the military, they would need to face the reality of killing others or being killed. That has tended to cool their jets. I am pro-military, inasmuch as I have tremendous respect for people who follow that calling, but I have no illusions about the sacrifices and harsh realities of the military mission.
So when we sat down to this incredible meal in the midst of so many material blessing, I asked everyone if we could sit in silence for 30 seconds for the sake of world peace. When they were growing up, I would ask them to sit in silence for 60 seconds for the sake of world peace. It's a Quaker thing. It's also something we laugh about, because everyone else's family just said a quick blessing. So I've cut it back to 30 seconds.
After the 30 seconds of silence, I wanted to say something about the troops and what it must be like for them right now. I just bit my tongue. It's a Quaker thing. My sons are watching more news now than ever in their lives, so I know they know how bad things are.
I heard an interesting statistic on TV the other day. The commentator was the national pollster, John Zogby. He said the majority of Americans can't tell you what is in the weekly news as far as political events are concerned, but an astonishingly high number can tell you how many troops have died in the past week.
Gosh, I don't know how to talk about this without sounding anxious, and what I'd really like is to say something hopeful and comforting to you. I think many of us are deeply concerned about the well-being of our troops, even if we don't have a family member in the line of fire.