Adopt a Sniper

War is not good for children and other living things.

Our soon-to-be-adults now attending college have already made major decisions in their lives about how they will live their lives. Their values systems are formed. We have found that much that we will become is already in place by the age of six. I am extremely concerned that we are doing a poor job at best in preparing our children for life on the planet. Don't we say to our children, "Use your inside voices. Use you words."? We want them to learn to negotiate with others, starting with the art of sharing at age two. This is an instinctive part of parenting. We all strive to teach our children to be aware of and sensitive to others. Yet when children reach eighteen, we watch them go off to war. As a society, we adopt violent methods of conflict resolution both at home and in the world. Child abuse and spousal abuse are a national shame. And by our support of war, we affirm our belief that might makes right. We sanction our role as bully of the world. We do not protest that our government is building more nuclear weapons. We shrug our shoulders when we hear that our country is building 14 new military bases in Iraq, and we believe our leaders when they say we have no intention of remaining there. Some cheer when our military kills people called enemies. Killing innocent men, women, and children becomes acceptable. We allow ourselves to live in fear. We justify war profiteering by deceiving ourselves that killing is the only way.

Our actions speak louder than words.

Friday, February 4, a report came out (Reuters) that Marquette University, a Jesuit university in Wisconsin, has blocked an attempt by Republican students to raise money for a group called "Adopt a Sniper." This group raises money for U.S. sharp-shooters in Iraq and Afghanistan. The students were selling bracelets bearing the motto "1 Shot 1 Kill No Remorse I Decide."

Adopt a Sniper (www.adoptasniper.org) supports snipers deployed by the U.S. armed forces in Iraq and Afghanistan. The group says it "helps real snipers get the real gear they need to help keep us safe." Among products sold on their web site is a $15 coin with the imprinted phrase "Assistance From a Distance."

So if you can't be there in person killing Iraqis and Afghans, you can do the next best thing and help equip those who are there doing the killing.

What we don't realize perhaps is that killing others also affects us. We kill ourselves as well. We destroy the lives of our young people by sending them out to kill for us. Thousands of soldiers, called "the lucky ones," return shattered in mind, body , and spirit. And we continue to hail them as our heroes. Yet, ironically, we refuse to adequately care for them. We allow Congress to cut back on veteran costs. We stand by and watch as our poor families send their precious sons and daughters to fight and die for the rich.

Does not even the Bible teach us not to kill?

Lord, how long?

[Click on the blog title to read the Reuters article.]