Why We Fight...Oh, Hell, Who Knows?

At the beginning of World War II, President Roosevelt felt it might be a good idea to explain what it was all about and why we had to fight and ultimately win the greatest conflict in history. So he asked the military to make a series of films entitled "Why We Fight."

Because if you are asking America's sons and now daughters, to risk life and limb in battle, it might be a good idea to explain why.

Oh, Franklin. That is so you and it's just charming. Nowadays, it's a grab bag of rationales.

Are we re-obliterating Iran for regime change? Yep. Are we out to end their military? Yep. Did we do it because Netanyahu said it was time? Apparently, unless Rubio takes that comment back, which he did. Are we doing it because because these guys are really annoying Muslims and it's our holy duty to kick some turbans? Sure.

Look at Hegseth's tattoo. ..

This is known as the "Jerusalem Cross" or "Crusader's Cross." I bought a brass one for my Father-in-Law when I was in Jerusalem during the first Gulf War. I bought it in the Arab market area in East Jerusalem, and I wondered at first, why the Arab merchant would be carrying a symbol of the Crusades. Then I remembered. They won.

But despite the differing explanations for why we ended negotiations and decided to just bomb the crap out of the place, it doesn't matter. Unlike even something as flimsy as the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution in 1964, which LBJ tucked under his arm and ran for daylight in Viet Nam for the next ten years, modern Presidents don't seem to need explanations or that annoying Congress down the road from the White House.

And that applies to both parties.

You just go with your gut instinct. And if it costs some lives, you will just have to suck it up and go to Dover Air Force Base and see them home. And like the war announcement, the President wore the seemingly obligatory Trump Merchandise - USA gimme cap.

By the way, even Fox realized wearing a baseball cap for the "Dignified Transfer" of remains was so disrespectful that they ran footage from last year, claiming it was from Saturday. And like their Dominion Voting Machine lie, they had to apologize on air when caught. At least this one was free.

And thank the good lord, he didn't wear this...

Now, you're talking disrespect for the office.

Granted, Donald Trump is one of the least religious Presidents in some time, but he has made sure to surround himself with all the trappings of what passes for faith in these times.

Yeah, OK. whatever. But this has filtered down to the ranks in the US military. From the Guardian Newspaper...

US military commanders have been invoking extremist Christian rhetoric about biblical “end times” to justify involvement in the Iran war to troops, according to complaints made to a watchdog group.

The Military Religious Freedom Foundation (MRFF) says it has received more than 200 complaints from service members across all branches of the armed forces, including the marines, air force and space force.

One complainant, identified as a noncommissioned officer (NCO) in a unit that could be deployed “at any moment to join” operations against Iran, told MRFF in a complaint viewed by the Guardian that their commander had “urged us to tell our troops that this was ‘all part of God’s divine plan’ and he specifically referenced numerous citations out of the Book of Revelation referring to Armageddon and the imminent return of Jesus Christ”.

Now, frankly, I don't want people who believe the end of the world is nigh access to the means to bring it about.

We are a country that treasures the freedoms enshrined in the Constitution, and among those is freedom of religion. And as such, our military is peopled with recruits of every faith, and no faith, just like the general population. And our obligation as Americans is to allow and protect their free practice of that faith.

Now, I am an Episcopalian, which I understand barely qualifies. We Anglicans are a free-thinking and even snarky bunch. My favorite line from a sermon by my favorite Rector was, "The lion will indeed lie down with the lamb. But the lamb won't get much sleep."

And I know my Catholic relations from my father's family and my Baptist relations from my wife's would consider my branch of the faith as barely attached to the tree, but they pretty much tolerate me.

And that's how it is supposed to be. But it is true, Iran has practiced an extreme version of their faith that justified, in their minds, all kinds of heinous violence. And whatever my opinions of the current administration, and they are pretty low, keeping Iran in check is not a bad thing. But for Trump, it always seems to involve force, no matter how many times he talks about peace.

And that has spread to our domestic political life. Consider the imbroglio over "Sharia Law" here in Texas. In the Middle East, it may be the governing law of the land, determining civil and judicial actions. In Western countries, though, it is considered religious teaching, governing how adherents are to conduct themselves and treat each other.

Like Christian teachings about justice and mercy, Mosaic teachings are also a guide for religious, civil, and moral life. No Christian or Jew would ask that a criminal offense only be judged in a religious court. Likewise, my Muslim friends know that whatever their religious practices, US civil law is the law of the land.

And yet, our national and especially our state leaders here in Texas, treat it like it's a spreading disease. They complain about head coverings for women but not a Yarmulke, or the old practice of women wearing a hat to church.

And while Iran has been pretty violent since the Revolution in 1979, if we are honest, no one's hands are clean. Witness the Crusades I talked about earlier, or this...

Back in the 1970's, I interviewed Louis Beam, who was the Klan Grand Dragon at the time. He attempted to justify his low opinion of African-Americans by stating, "Black people are blowing each other up on the streets of Kampala!"

I responded, "White people are blowing each other up on the streets of Belfast!"

I'll repeat what was said to me during the Gulf War by the late Bishop Samir Kafity, the Anglican Archbishop of East Jerusalem, as we sat in the nave of St. George's Cathedral. I asked why this eternal struggle in the Middle East isn't solvable. Draw a line, as the British did in India. Israel on one side and Palestine on the other.

He told me I said that because I'm an American. We see a problem, and we fix it and move on. But here, he said, "The Bible is like yesterday's newspaper. You have to drag both sides into this century before you can even begin talking."

Frankly, I'm no longer sure his description of American problem-solving is applicable anymore, nor is going back to an era of holy wars.

Well, unless there are some files somewhere you need to tuck away from public view. If so, look out Cuba.