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writing for godot

The Killing Team

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Written by Bishop Andrew Gentry   
Tuesday, 29 March 2011 04:26


Beloved Friends,

Many of you may have seen the grotesque photos of the Afghan civilians killed for sport by some American soldiers who also mutilated the bodies. The one that haunts me yet is that of the young boy whose eyes are open and fixed in death looking as if to Heaven to ask why as one of the soldiers who murdered him smiles broadly. It reminds me of a young soldier in another war, Vietnam to be exact, who proudly had the ears of a Viet Cong soldier whom he killed mounted on a brass plaque and placed above his mantle! The common thread in all this is absolute inhumanity of war made even more inhumane by the hate of one side for the other. Sometimes such hate consumes the last thread of humanity lingering and shivering in the shadow of a mechanized death machine. We have all heard Sherman's famous quote that war is hell and no one in his or her right mind would quarrel with that but sometimes people use the Union General's comment as a strange attempt to justify acts of barbarity such as the one described. How truly sadly and frighteningly stupid is such an attempt.


We have never confronted the fact that we are a culture that worships the gods of war and those gods are wreaking havoc upon us. From school shootings to political assignations we try and "explain away" those who perpetrate such awful acts as if they could not be held fully accountable for such action. Look at our media and our language. The more physical and hurtful, insulting and demeaning the better and when videos of fighting are posted the hits (pun intended) go off the scale. Spoiled brats like Charlie Sheen and other so called celebrities make millions off toilet humor, insults, and obscenities, whereas politeness is seen as weakness and manners as archaic. The neocons love this culture of guns and cruelty and defend it at every turn.


Until we denounce such violence both of act and word we will see that demonic smile broaden with both frequency and place. As a final act of unkindness and unspeakable sadness the person who had to identify this boy was his father. War is very personal and it wounds everybody.


Pray for peace and justice.


Bishop Andrew Gentry
All Saints and Sorts Congregational Church
Asheville N C



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