feeling outrage and looking for hope

Finally … The Washington Post is reporting that “Diplomats Agree on Resolution Text – U.N. Security Council Says Nearing Final Agreement” on a ceasefire in the Lebanese-Israeli conflict. May it truly happen, and soon.

Last night on BBC World Service on the radio (yes I’ve had insomnia lately, so I’m becoming very well informed), they had an interview with an artist who lives in Beirut. It was quite a thoughtful and poignant moment as I was lying awake in bed – she was sharing how the Lebanese people are joining together to help the 1 in 4 who have become displaced. She seemed to be hopeful while at the same time baffled as to why this was happening. Over 1,000 civilians have been killed in the past month in Lebanon. 1,000 mom, dads, grandparents, children. And I find it so hard to get my head around the idea of ¼ of a country having to flee their homes for safety. How do you flee when all the highways, railroads and airports have been destroyed and you’ve been told any moving vehicles will be targeted by bombs from the skies?

I’m finding myself feeling as helpless as I did this time last year when thousands were stranded at the New Orleans Superdome. Perhaps I’ve been hoodwinked into believing that our government (as a superpower) has the capability to do something, but I think we could certainly be doing more for those in dire need. And I firmly believe we have a moral obligation to do as much as is humanely possible with our political power as well as our humanitarian aid.

I remember that when the conflict first flared up last month, Condaleezza Rice said something to the effect of “A temporary cease fire would be a false hope” when explaining why our nation at that point was not calling for a ceasefire. I respect the notion of working for a lasting peace in the region – of course we essentially abandoned the region for the past 5 years but that’s another post. But let’s get real here …. to the 1,000 people who have lost their lives and to those who mourn them, I do not think a temporary cease fire would have been a “false hope.” It would have meant LIFE whereas our unwillingness to do something forceful and quickly instead was tantamount to a death sentence.

I’ve been noticing an interesting phenomenon in the rhetoric of our nation’s leaders. Our “pro-life” politicians seem to focus on the inherent value of human life only when it is American life, and usually then only when it is at a certain stage of life. Perhaps it is the cynic in me, but it would seem to me that 1,000 innocent Lebanese lives have just as much inherent value as the Terry Shiavo’s of the world and deserve as much care, attention and government intervention. If we value human life, doesn’t that mean all human life??? But where is the public outcry?

I’ve written before about the shift in the effect of armed conflict on civilian populations, but it’s worth highlighting again:

At the start of the 20th Century, civilians accounted for 5% of war dead.
During World War II, civilian casualties grew to 65% of the victims of war.
By the early 1990's, this number had grown to over 75%.
Today, over 90% of those killed in war are civilians.

This point is being proven once again in Lebanon. It seems so obviously morally wrong to me. And yet, does anyone care? We still talk about war as if it is only those who choose to fight that are dying. But instead, it is women, children and the elderly whose lives are violently taken from them in geopolitical games that they play no part in. And in wars which march right into their homes and take away their ability to flee to safety. Where is the moral outrage?? Where are the grandstanding speeches? Do we even care, or are we only concerned if we can't take our shampoo on the airplane with us?

There’s nowhere for this post to go. I’m just feeling a need to release some of this angst. And so I pray …

God of the nations, look upon the lands devastated by war and show us the way to peace. Turn our guns into plows and our bombs into bread. Remove hatred from our hearts and vengeance from our memories. Give us the wisdom and the will to end terrorism and war whether in lands far or near, or in the confines of our families and communities. Help us to remember that we are one world and one family. Grant this through the intercession of all peacemakers of all times and all places, especially those who suffered persecution and death for the sake of justice and peace. Amen.*

(*This prayer is from the People’s Companion to the Breviary. The Sisters in my house in Seattle say it every night at the conclusion of their evening prayers.)