Every war brings new deaths, new grief, new pain and new arguments. Everyone wants to be the winner, no matter the cost. No matter the number of lives sacrificed, the families shattered, the dreams unfulfilled—as long as we win. The real complication comes when we’re attempting to determine why we’re fighting. Is it peace? Hard to explain peace through the pieces of a soldier’s body. Is it justice? Justice means looking at a situation objectively. Justice is reason removed from passion. We are entirely too passionate about winning so in said respect we are not fighting for justice.
The road to hell is paved with good intentions and good intentions often derive from religion. Mind numbingly blind belief granting good intentions to good believers but shitty people. People will let you down every time. Religion will not. Christianity says to love your neighbor as yourself. Unless you’re planning on killing yourself then put your guns away.
It’s angering and frustrating. How long will we continue the violence? How many words will we write, prayers will we say, pleas will we make until we realize that we all do not see everything the same? How long will it take this one country to stop fighting with itself over what to believe? Agnostic and atheist, Catholics and Christians, come together right now… and believe. Believe that peace is not ordained from any external doctrine. It’s not mandated by any higher power. It comes from an internal understanding that we are all people.
People who need to respect other people. Gays and lesbians, blacks and whites, Spanish speakers and English speakers—we are all people. And peace will come when we all start to care for each other as people and look past the details that people throw up as excuses to separate us. Our skin color doesn’t matter. Our mentality does.
…there will be an answer—let it be.
