October 1, 2009

Dear Friends,

The world in 579 words.
     At the end of staff meeting on Monday morning, I asked the staff if they had suggestions for this edition of Dear Friends. After a lengthy pause, one of my colleagues suggested that we think about the issue of violence. In other words, describe the world in 579 words.
     Earlier this week, eight American soldiers were killed in a prolonged firefight in Afghanistan.  The outpost that they died defending was scheduled to be closed within a few days because its location was deemed too dangerous. This occurred on the eve of a major policy review about force levels and strategy for Afghanistan.
     It seems to me that a conversation about violence begins with the reminder that we are a nation at war. There is a growing and understandable weariness with our military engagement in Iraq and Afghanistan. We took our eye off the ball in Afghanistan after the initial ouster of the Taliban, concentrated our resources on Iraq and are now living with the consequences of that decision. Some see signs that the Iraqis are moving past sectarian violence and seeking to create a more secular state that claims a national identity. Withdrawal of American forces from Iraq seems possible, but Afghanistan is a different story.
     I am deeply concerned about the self-destructive violence that is resulting from these military engagements. Repeated deployments and inadequate support for those who have served has resulted in an alarming number of suicides among military personnel. Many military families are experiencing extreme stress, and violence is too often the result.
     I am concerned that the current economic environment is creating a significant amount of anger and anxiety in families. People who have worked hard and been loyal to their employer find themselves out of work. The consequence, all too often, is emotional and physical domestic violence. I’m worried about the stress on families.
     I’m finding myself increasingly fearful of the antagonistic tone of our national life and wondering if it is not creating a climate that encourages violence. When a well known nationally syndicated radio talk show host says that he was “gleeful” when he heard the news that President and Mrs. Obama were not able to persuade the International Olympic Committee to pick Chicago as the host for the 2016 Olympics becasue it was a so-called defeat for the president, I worry. This fear was fueled by an essay by Tom Friedman in a recent issue of the New York Times in which he said that the current divisive emotional climate in the United States reminds him of what he saw and heard in Israel in the mid-1990’s when Yitzak Rabin was the Prime Minister. Friedman’s piece is too important to ignore. You can read it for yourself at http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/30/opinion/30friedman.html?_r=1.
     On top of all of this, there is the pastor who packs heat under his robe when he preaches in order to “protect” his congregation, and the kid just out of high school who gets shot because somebody messes with his girlfriend. There is 24/7 violence on TV and if you need a greater sense of participation, go rent Halo for the weekend. Do the people of the Table have anything to say?
     We might start by affirmning that life matters. Every life matters. That’s a good place to begin
a conversation about violence.