tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329600504016968888.post7202926951966336752..comments2024-03-29T09:20:16.581-05:00Comments on Pastoral Meanderings: A small detail overshadows a profound moment. . . Pastor Petershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10653554256101480140noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329600504016968888.post-85254359576945714672016-05-30T11:58:01.098-05:002016-05-30T11:58:01.098-05:00The problem today is the use of undeclared wars (v...The problem today is the use of undeclared wars (via the War Powers Act). Of course, it is unlikely that Congress would ever exercise its authority and responsibility to pass a declaration of war against an attacking enemy, since that would mean a commitment to the use of nuclear weapons against the enemy until they unconditionally surrender or their ability to fight is annihilated.Carl Vehsehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00348831096001668813noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329600504016968888.post-23555386761361029152016-05-30T10:30:23.751-05:002016-05-30T10:30:23.751-05:00Pastor Peters, I appreciate your moving tribute to...Pastor Peters, I appreciate your moving tribute to our fallen heroes who lost their lives over the years and in the wars we Americans have endured. We must also grieve for the women and children, fathers and mothers, brothers and sisters, cousins, relatives and friends who tearfully buried their loved ones as well. War is cruel. I was a Sgt in the Marine Corps and spent 1967-68 in combat in Thua Thien Province during the Vietnam War. I am as patriotic as most Americans, and understand there are times when wars are unavoidable, but let me say up front that many of our heroes died because of the misplaced and misguided policies of the political leaders of their time. For example, prior to the War of 1812, there were border communities of Canadians and New Yorkers living in harmony, trading, intermarrying, and worshipping God in their respective towns...crossing over at will and in a spirit of common fellowship. But President Madison wanted to incorporate Canada into the US, and for other justifications, he plunged us into war. With war declared, the border communities between Canada and the U.S. erupted and farms, homes, lives lost. We have fought wars which were wrong for us, like the Spanish American War. In Vietnam, Dwight Eisenhower warned President's Kennedy and Johnson to avoid placing American troops into that Far East land unless it was for a short time with a winning strategy, He was ignored, especially by Johnson, and 50,000 lives of our young Americans were lost. We have continued to make gross errors in judgment by invading Iraq, and putting our young men into Afghanistan to endure IED's and a quagmire of a 12th century tribal wasteland. I shed tears for my fallen comrades in all wars, but I despise the willful, murderous and evil motivations of politicians who use ordinary men and women to advance their own warlike attitude. I pray that we Americans can be more wise in the selection of our leaders, being especially skeptical of those who would bring us into wars with no real urgency or threat to our nation. For those who glorify war, I tell you it is not. It is a place we dare not go unless it is the only option available to protect our land.John Joseph Flanaganhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06596324816480709495noreply@blogger.com