I guess I've been thinking about all the things Grandpa has been saying. I know that it wouldn't be my idea of fun to go overseas and fight and maybe even have to kill someone but aren't I living in this country? So don't I have to agree that there is a risk to me living here and having to serve if something happens?
Like I said, it isn't my idea of fun. And I guess I'd rather be able to chose whether I'd fight in a war or not. It makes sense for me to have to fight if someone was attacking America, but it doesn't really make sense for a country to force people to go someplace else and fight if they don't think the war is a good one. But Grandpa was telling me about how that isn't the way it works - you either agree with all the wars that America fights, or you have to disagree with all the wars - so I couldn't pick and choose whether I'd want to fight for one war or another.
But that doesn't mean that if I go to fight in a war then that means I agree with all kinds of violence. Look at all the horrible forms of violence in the world that could never be used in a 'just' way, like some wars could be fought in. Child abuse. Sexual violence. Domestic violence. Gang violence. Hate crimes. Those never help anyone in any situation. Yeah they are glorified in movies and tv shows just like war can be glorified but I think that these are different because there is not reason why they should ever be committed. If a war must be fought to protect a group of people from suffering more, and there is a clear possibility of it actually succeeding in the goal, then it is a little bit of violence to help save a lot of lives. But I cannot think of a single situation where beating a child would help anyone.
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It's hard to argue with you there, Brad. You might pause to consider, however, whether the fundamental claim of Christianity (that Christ was crucified for the sins of humanity) has given society the impression that all forms of violence can not only be effective but also redemptive. Be careful what questions you ask, Brad. Your reflection about the value of child beating might lead you to question all forms of violence. The pacifist tradition in Christianity is interesting in this regard because it buys into redemptive suffering but also refuses to impose bodily harm and thus suffering on others. You have not really grappled with pacifism except when you mention the legitimacy of self defense in the "about the author" section.
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