Bible and a Gun

As I read Jordan's last post, with the photo burned in my memory, I became increasingly smug as my attitudes towards the military complex were even more deeply confirmed. However, out of the blue, I started thinking about the line from "The Wanderer" by Johnny Cash and U2,
"I went out walking with a bible and a gun
The word of God lay heavy on my heart
I was sure I was the one"

I won't try to analyze the song in this space, I tried very much simply to put the lyrics on the right but to no avail - so I've simply posted a YouTube video to let you listen to the words.

It wasn't so long ago that missionary's made the very same leap of logic. Somewhere along the line people who were in the business of evangelism realized that meeting people's physical needs was an excellent stepping stone to meeting their spiritual needs. (To me, that logic is present right in the New Testament but things got confused along the way.) *

I will not be able to explain my train of thought but after a while I almost began to see myself in that picture. Obviously a gun, as a weapon, creates a very hierarchical relationship but just looking at that picture I get a feel for all the relational dynamics between that soldier and the others in the photo. One of the last activities I did before coming back to Canada was help protect a natural spring so that animals would not pollute the water and people have better access to clean water. Similar to that soldier, I was down in the muck and mire, working away, laying bricks and scooping mud while getting to know the nationals who lived in the area and would eventually (I presume) take advantage of this clean water.

I may not have had a gun but I had a nice watch, a massive car, absolutely no financial concerns and drove off every few days to "recuperate" at home. In other words, although I'm sure I got to know my co-workers much better than GI Joe pictured below, there were some not insignificant factors preventing real relationship building and, as an extension, effective development. I cannot hold my nose too high.

So that was my initial response to Jordan's post; am I able to end this post with a poignant lesson? I'll try. Maybe as the International Committee for the Red Cross, UN, et al protest about the incredible harm that comes from linking military activities and providing aid it will cause them to purposefully study and categorize what they do so as to distance themselves from the military. This naval gazing may result in a broader recognition of some of the side effects of their own actions and cause some re-thinking about development.

In other words, one of the core topics of this blog is the ineffectiveness of traditional aid. Maybe the military getting involved simply magnifies this and will drive all the real aid organizations to really do some soul searching for some ground breaking methods to help those in need.

Not sure how that ties in with my anecdote or even the song but there you have it.

Kurtis (in Waterloo)

*Now, make no mistake, the path from trying to help someone spiritually to being concerned about their physical well being is significantly more straightforward than the winding path between a military presence trying to seek out terrorist individuals within the populace and that same military also helping individuals rebuild their homes. According to the military that path has to get through the towns of "It's for our National Security" and "For their freedom". Other towns along that road, not mentioned on the map include "Civilian casualties", "Toppled government" as well as "Abu Ghraib" and "My Lai". So I'm sorry military, in the short, medium and long term you are not doing one iota of good. Just had to get that rant out, better stop while I'm ahead.