Judah: The Responsibility of Voice

It was very interesting to me when I heard that the strong European avoidance of everything having to do with church and Christianity is largely a result of what people percieved as complicity in violence (both during WWII and in the religious wars following the Reformation). I heard about this secularization and post-Christian attitude of Europe as a warning to the U.S. churches:

we must be careful about the violence that we as the Church are currently being complicit in.

This struck a chord in me. The Church has been called out of the violent and alienating ways of the world; the Gospel is the good news about reconciliation - with God and with each other. If we are remaining in the systems of violence which we have been called out of, if we forsake the reconciliation which Christ has called us to, than is not our Church-ness and our "gospel's" Gospel-ness called into question?

How am I complicit to the violence that is currently being done in the name of American imperialism? Complicity does not simply include active support; it can also include passive indifference. If I am not raising my voice against the injustices that are being done in my name (as part of the "American People"), then will I not be called to give account on the day of Justice? "Why did you not stand for the oppressed? Why did you not resist the violence?"

The weight of this responsibility comes down even harder on people like me, who live in a place where my political voice actually has significance. I do not want to be complicit to my nation's violence; I want to do all I can to stop the violence that is being done through my country's military, economic, and cultural endeavors.

It is a simple start, but I have started writing my Senator (John McCain) more often.

• I have asked him to push for the signing of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty, something that our Senate has not been able to say yes to up till now (and something that Obama is willing to sign), which has resulted in other Nuclear nations (like India and Pakistan) to also walk away from the treaty).


• I am sending a letter tomorrow that is asking McCain to be an active voice in decreasing our military presence in Afghanistan, opposing the President's surge policy. Our military presence is only destabilizing the country further, when we could be using those resources, rather, in life-giving ways towards the Afghani people.


• I am also wanting to write on the issues of Debt Relief to developing countries which we have loaned to; they should be freed to invest that money in their own people (which is badly needed) instead of paying for our high interest rates. This would be a small act of restitution towards these countries that have been so ravaged by our colonial tactics for so long, and the best kind of aid is self-empowerment towards these countries.


• I would like to advocate that we increase our trade restrictions on exports going to foreign countries. By shipping out our cheap exports (via subsidies and second-hand "charitable" giveaways), the local artisans and tradespeople are unable to compete, which therefore eradicates whole sectors of their industry.

Another way to resist that I am interested in is by avoiding the military tax. To do this, I could live below the poverty line, which would mean that I would not have to send any money to the Federal government at all.

Together, we must actively resist the systems of violence which we would otherwise be complicit in, and be willing to sacrifice the comfortable lifestyles which have been hitherto sustained by these violent acts...