A Vietnam Vet's Reflections on Iraq from, "I, Too, Can Create Light"

"War is God's Way, You Say?"

    I remember hearing it for the first time in Officer's Candidate School, 1967,
    "War is God's way."  It seemed ridiculous, even to me, then, bereft of any conscious spirituality.  As degraded as I was, I still, religiously, said a quick prayer before meals - although I had given up praying before bed. 
    "War is God's way, and we are doing God's will fighting Communism!"
    That premise left a lot of villages smouldering, sanctified millions of murders, justified tearing up a whole country's infrastructure - but, not for the Vietnamese...  nor the Koreans, or, the Iraqis, or, the Afghans, and, ultimately, but hopefully not, the Iranians, for that matter. 
    As Americans we have been convinced that killing hundreds of thousands of people in war can be for their own good, no matter what the people themselves think. And, at the same time we're convinced it's good for today's economy. 
    We're, also, convinced that we are close (within this generation) of Yaum al Kiyama, or The End of Time, and, thus, the beginning of The Judgement. Personally, I prefer to fear the eminence of The Judgement, so that it makes me pray often, and curtails my moral weakness, daily. I certainly want to refrain from committing or complicity in any murder.
     Nor do I  think that I am, necessarily, that special in the aeons of time, that my lifetime deserves to  be the period of The Judgement,  for good or bad reasons.
    But, I do think that this, seemingly spiritual belief,  is used as a copout these days for expecting America to be a perpetually warring country.  We believe it is the end of time, and we are so special that He has sanctioned (if not, sanctified) our perpetually killing millions for their own good. It's God's Way  of keeping the economy (or something important) sound.
    I believe that on The Day of Judgement God will take into consideration how many people were, "justly",  killed on both sides when judging Presidents and those who supported their deadly decisions with hand or heart.  
    Therefore, I want no part of the massacres in Vietnam.  I confess it as a sin that I am trying to repent for supporting but not committing, and the commission of which I surely can not support in the future (Iran), the present (Iraq and Afghanistan), or the past (Korea).

   

    I do not believe that we are so close to Judgement that we can not have societies that do not war in our lifetime.  We must wean ourselves from the "War Is God's Way"/It's Good for our economy and what's good for us is good for the world philosophy; it's obviously Satanic.

    The computer has leveled the playing field; we need not fight each other over knowledge, or even the world's resources.  Allah has blessed this planet with enough to go around.
    We should believe that with the preponderance of Spiritual knowledge in Quran, Bible, and other Scripture that our world has been blessed with and the access to virtually every human being for the first time we could create a Spiritual planet, and indeed a planet without war.
    The interpretation of Holy Scripture that necessitates humans being in conflict incessantly is a ruse to keep the most powerful and one time most loved and respected country doing the Devil's work, proudly, using the best of the new technology to refine mere murder. 
    I do not know for how long we could sustain a war less society,  but at least for the rest of this century, even the millennium, for that matter. There will be no more scripture but the potent scripture that we have is being read, understood and applied at astounding rates and levels.  It bodes well for our future generations. I believe that we are at a crossroads in history. Allah's word is soon to be read and heard by every human being. Let us vye with one another in doing good. The wisest among us will put their efforts in line with spreading knowledge to those in need.  God's Work.  Who is to say that when everyone has access to fulfill himself spiritually, they won't make the planet better?
    I do not want to deter anyone in any religion from fearing the end of time and modifying their sinful behavior accordingly, but, to believe that you are about to stand in That Rank to face Our Creator as a President or a Priest or just a plain good ol' boy like the ones I served with in Vietnam, and think that Allah (God) will not hold you accountable for all the millions of murders that we, Americans,  have been convinced were "God's Way" in the last 60 years is as arrogant as believing your puny lifetime is worthy of being "The One".