Second-Guessing
In the news and on many blogs, people are questioning the reasons for entering the war with Iraq. Many are calling into question the "justness" of the war (at best, to my mind, a dubious concept). But to what point? What is done is done. Either it was just, or it was not. To spend time and energy fretting over why and when and where and what the reasoning might have been seems indulging in a futile endeavor. Worse, such hand-wringing tends to indict those who in conscience prosecuted the war. All of this is simply judging ex post facto what is really beyond the ability of any of us to judge while here on Earth.
Rather than rehash and rewarm and reargue the entire event or chain of events, it would seem better to learn from the experience, and perhaps to explore how one might achieve the famous Kollwitz Nie Weider Kreig. Now seems more a time of prayer and acts of reparation, because even if the war were just, innocent people died (admittedly fewer than had been expected, but nevertheless. . .), and injustices were committed. In prayer, we remand all of these things to God's care and we trust in His providence to make good what may have been less than good. We trust Him to protect and care for all of those away from home and still facing danger and we trust Him to protect the people of Iraq from future oppressors and from those who continue to struggle, perhaps only to rise again once a suppressing presence has left.
I suspect that the main cause of all the hand-wringing is the mercifcul absence of most other news of import. And thus, I suppose I am better off with the hand-wringing that with the news that is likely to drive this out of the headlines. Unfortunately, I know that if nothing else happens (God forbid), we will have to listen to this through the next election. Still and all, it gives us pause for deliberate and well-considered prayer.
