I\u2019ve been asked if I\u2019m concerned. \u00a0Of course I am. \u00a0Just because I have faith in the hereafter doesn\u2019t mean I care nothing about the here and now. \u00a0I have sons, and I concern myself with the world they will inherit. \u00a0I don\u2019t talk about their potential suffering as some badge of honor for me. \u00a0If I think suffering for the faith is a virtue, then there are plenty of opportunities for me to suffer for the faith. \u00a0I needn\u2019t set the stage for my kids to do what I never did.<\/p>\n
Same with world matters. \u00a0I\u2019ve said I\u2019m concerned about the world, and have been for some time. \u00a0There are always reasons to be concerned. \u00a0It\u2019s not like all of this suddenly erupted on January 20th. \u00a0We\u2019ve been watching the Korean issue come to a head for decades. \u00a0Our deteriorating relations with Russia have been going on for some time. \u00a0Likewise China. \u00a0And let\u2019s not forget that little thing called the emergent Islamic world. \u00a0Any of these and more could spiral out of control.<\/p>\n
These things have been dealt with differently over the decades. \u00a0 Issues like Korea obviously haven\u2019t been dealt with well, or we wouldn\u2019t be here today. \u00a0Just what will happen, I don\u2019t know. \u00a0Some say it\u2019s merely saber rattling. \u00a0But such saber rattling could lead to serious wounds. \u00a0The cause of warfare over the ages is a varied thing. \u00a0And the sabers today do more damage.<\/p>\n
So I\u2019m certainly praying for peace and for cooler heads to prevail. \u00a0Not just to avoid conflict now, but to finally do something to stop the march toward inevitable conflict that has been going on for decades.<\/p>\n
On the other hand, I also pray for the rhetoric to change. \u00a0Whether it\u2019s Kim Jong-il, Donald Trump and his supporters, or Trump\u2019s critics. \u00a0 Provocation can come from many places. \u00a0Cooler heads across the board would be nice.<\/p>\n
With that said, I\u2019m also leery about getting too frightened. \u00a0Again, not because I\u2019m so heavenly focused I\u2019m no earthly good. \u00a0It\u2019s practical. \u00a0I remember the same alarmism and hysteria in the early 80s. \u00a0Nuclear annihilation was inevitable. \u00a0Reagan would provoke the USSR, we would have war, it would escalate, and we were doomed. \u00a0As I explain to my boys, that wasn\u2019t the result of social media or Facebook or Twitter. \u00a0That wasn\u2019t some schmuck sitting at his computer desk in the basement throwing out conspiracy theories. \u00a0Those were professionals in three piece suits writing op-eds for Newsweek, US News and World Report and The New York Times. \u00a0Hearing doom was at hand from such respectable quarters carried punch.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s worth noting that, by 1984, seeing we hadn\u2019t been nuked also carried punch. \u00a0I became wary of politically charged rhetoric. \u00a0Oh, it happens. \u00a0It\u2019s part of politics. \u00a0In some cases, it can be careless and stoke fires that don\u2019t need to be stoked. \u00a0Sometimes it warns us in ways that calm debate doesn\u2019t do. \u00a0But just because someone says the sky is falling doesn\u2019t mean I\u2019m ready to run for cover.<\/p>\n
All of this is to say of course I\u2019m concerned. \u00a0I\u2019m concerned for my loved ones and me and for all the innocents of the world. \u00a0I\u2019m also worried that politically charged, or expedient, fear could push us to where we don\u2019t want to be. \u00a0To that end, I can do all a person in my lowly position can do, and that\u2019s pray for peace. \u00a0And pray that those in actual positions of power will be peacemakers, as we all should be.<\/p>\n
Lord, we pray for the power to be gentle; the strength to be forgiving; the patience to be understanding; and the endurance to accept the consequences of holding to what we believe to be right.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n
May we put our trust in the power of good to overcome evil and the power of love to overcome hatred.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n
We pray for the vision to see and the faith to believe in a world emancipated from violence, a new world where fear shall no longer lead men to commit injustice, nor selfishness make them bring suffering to others.<\/em><\/p>\n
Help us to devote our whole life and thought and energy to the task of making peace, praying always for the inspiration and the power to fulfill the destiny for which we and all men were created.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n
A Prayer for World Peace, 1978<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
I\u2019ve been asked if I\u2019m concerned. \u00a0Of course I am. \u00a0Just because I have faith in the hereafter doesn\u2019t mean I care nothing about the here and now. \u00a0I have sons, and I concern myself with the world they will inherit. \u00a0I don\u2019t talk about their potential suffering as some badge of honor for me. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2805,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[30,14,1],"tags":[3],"class_list":["post-10598","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-current-events","category-musings","category-uncategorized","tag-current-events"],"yoast_head":"\n
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