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Friends United Meeting |
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Quaker Life
April 2003
The Peace Church as Soldier Advocate
By Joel Maiorano
It is 2:00 a.m. in the morning and someone knocks on my door. "Get up, get dressed, and grab your field equipment. Formation will be in one hour. We are going to war!"
"Going to war? What is Sergeant Jamison talking about? Who threatened the powers of our politicians?" immediately entered my thoughts. I was abruptly awakened, alerted and directly began packing my gear. Our formation was convened. Fortunately, it was only a drill; our military unit was never deployed.
It has been fifteen years since I heard those piercing words shouted in the barracks hallway. Today, my heart still races, just thinking about the potential global consequences of my battalion going to combat. Granted, each time my military Crash/Fire/Rescue detachment responded to an emergency, we contemplated the worst. Yes, the worst, but the worst civilian emergency cowers in comparison to war with another country and people. Mental preparation for armed conflict, if any, typically followed the physical need to be properly equipped. In the course of a unit alert, there is little time to philosophically evaluate or examine the need for warfare.
As a veteran and former assistant NCOIC (non-commissioned officer in charge), I know that a unit's capacity to implement its war plan and fulfill its mission is exceptionally contingent on being well prepared for deployment. Questions are rarely asked, and when presented are more of an inquiry for further details, not clarification and explanation. People who have never served in the Armed Forces or understood a soldier's deep commitment to protect their homeland often ridicule this selflessness.
Deployment has many consequences, not just for a nation, but also for the family. Soldiers departing to battle zones create initial environments that often encourage a father's desire to communicate farewell to his only child, a mother's yearning to pray for safety or a significant other's ability to cope with loneliness and loss. After Vietnam and the appalling public treatment of returning soldiers, most family members and fellow veterans dared not confront the elected official or raise the question: Who will explain why we are going to war?
In modern-day America it appears to be the President or Congress, not necessarily the public, who justifies military action. When civilians become members of the armed services, they take an oath to serve and honor the President as commander-in-chief. Questioning the motivation or discernment of a commanding officer is blatant insubordination. Openly confronting your highest commanding officer would most likely result in disciplinary action and quite possibly reduce a unitŐs morale. It is not in the best interest of the soldier nor the unit to publicly question a direct order. Therefore, we, the religious conscience of the nation, are confronted with actively supporting the soldier by fighting for their right to question the use of military action.
This challenge has been traditionally the struggle of several religious communities commonly called peace churches. These religious bodies regularly protest the use of military action and proactively choose to seek non-violent peaceful resolutions.
Advocacy is not a new expression for peace churches or Christendom. The Greek word parakletos is commonly interpreted in the gospel of John as the Holy Spirit. Parakletos or paraclete, better known as advocate, strongly describes the Holy Spirit as an advocate for humanity: a defense attorney campaigning for and defending our identity in Christ and community. Honorable as it may be, many Christian pacifists and non-pacifists overlook their civic and spiritual role as soldier advocate: speaking for those who have no voice or who are unable to speak.
Soldier advocates, like legal counselors, are called to publicly voice the soldier's concerns and support their need to be understood. Many friends and fellow protesters demonstrating for peaceful resolution are mostly unaware of the need to convey this position. Often pacifists alienate themselves from the public and the soldier by communicating mixed messages. Peace church leaders must remember in their struggle to never forget the importance of protecting the soldier, both physically (protesting combat) and emotionally (in the words they choose to communicate). Interceding for the soldier includes acknowledging the person and their role. Listening to their story doesn't make us agree with the need for military action, but opens us up to friendship and resolution. I have also found that war supporters struggle with understanding the complex notion of soldier advocate.
Today, many military personnel and their families are hesitant and disagree with being sent to the Middle East or Asia. They struggle with the inability to share this discomfort openly. Being asked to choose between loyalty to friendships and vocation versus conscience would be extremely difficult for anyone. Frequently isolated or withdrawn from those usually dictating public policy, soldiers need peace churches advocating and representing their voice and identity to the greater public.
Joel S. Garavaglia-Maiorano is chair of the Health, Physical Education and Recreation Department at Kansas Wesleyan University. He is also a consultant for St. John's Military School and a member of the Episcopal Peace Fellowship.
Copyright (c) 2003 Friends United Meeting
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