Home of the Brave?

We refer to America as “the land of the free and the home of the brave.” I’d like to believe that to be true. What exactly do we consider bravery? I think the definition is pretty broad among our people. I’ve been very interested in following the views of others regarding this situation with the attacks in Paris and the resulting shift in opinion concerning the consideration of granting a safe-haven to a small percentage Syrian refugees. I’ve also been aware of a reignited thirst for war from many of us. I see some calling for a total ban on bringing refugees into the country. I see others claiming we should open our doors and increase the number that we would let in. I hear some claim none of these refugees are women and children, but all able-bodied men of fighting age. I see some making hasty warnings with memes in serious need of citation. For example, I saw one comparing this situation to a percentage of Nazis in Germany during World War II and terrorists who practice the Islamic faith. Does this meme suggest that we should wipe out Muslims or does this meme suggest that we should bar any further influx of Muslims into our country because we should first assume that they have the intentions of a jihadist (akin to Germans being Nazis)? Either way, I can’t help but think back to that motto we’ve adopted from our National Anthem: The land of the free and the home of the brave.

I want to address civilians here, meaning non-military citizens of the United States. When calling for a full-scale invasion of Syria, Iraq, or any other place from which ISIS is operating, is it you who shows bravery, or is it you who expects others to be brave for you? Is it brave to sit at a computer and pound away at the keys to make public your desire to send off our citizens who have volunteered to protect our country to fight a battle in which you cannot or have no intention of participating? As we sit from the comfort of our heated homes with cable television and high-speed internet and an abundance of food in our pantries and refrigerators, with our vehicle (or multiple vehicles) sitting in our garages or driveways, some of us even opine that we should take a page from Hiroshima and Nagasaki and drop nuclear bombs on the Middle East in order to end this war with Islamic extremists once and for all. God is good. God has blessed us and we are the good guys. Have you even considered what the result of that would be? Have you even considered the horrors that would result from an action like this? Think of the innocent lives that will forever be gone. Think of the land that we would render inhabitable and spoil for years. This land, which some of you believe is the cradle of civilization, the setting where the stories from your most sacred, holy book took place, should be destroyed for the actions of a fringe element of a much wider culture? Of course, something should be done to assist, but do we really support such an extreme action? Thank goodness cooler heads will prevail in Washington. This would be an evil, tyrannical move and a crime against humanity on a scale never before seen. Sure, a lot of these nations are regressive in their ways of thinking. Women are treated poorly. Christians, atheists, and LGBT citizens must live secret lives or possibly die. But this isn’t the fault of the citizens. They were born into this situation. This is all they know. We were born into our situations of privilege. Good for us, but are we any better than these people because of it? Can we really efficiently transform a culture of violence and oppression with more violence and oppression? Each time we do this, we help to displace people from their homes, their families, and their way of life. We manufacture the resentment of these people. Is this really what we want? Do we really want to continue down this path?

I want to turn to the refugee situation. Which of these following actions do you find to be more in line with the notion that America is the “home of the brave?” One action would involve allowing these fellow human beings who have lost everything and are simply trying to find a place where they can keep themselves and their children safe from the constant war and strife that takes place in their home country. We would accept this action with the knowledge that a majority of these people practice the Muslim faith and there is a slight possibility that some of them could harbor bad intentions. But to the vast, vast majority, we would merely provide succor. A second action would be to generalize and assume that assisting these human beings would inevitably result in a danger to us, so in a flurry of fear-based decision making, we deny these people shelter from a living hell that we have never experienced in our fortunate place within the world. Are we humanitarians as a country or are we nationalists who care nothing for the lives of any but our own? I consider myself a humanist, so in my mind, it’s my duty to help in any way possible to fellow human beings in need. The majority of Americans are Christians. Christians are charged by the figure of Christ, who they base their very way of life upon, to care for those in need. Here are just two verses from the New Testament which support this:

“Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry and gave you food, or thirsty and gave you something to drink? And when was it that we saw you a stranger and welcomed you, or naked and gave you clothing? And when was it that we saw you sick or in prison and visited you?’ And the king will answer them, ‘Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me.” — Matthew 25:37-40

“Contribute to the needs of the saints; extend hospitality to strangers.” — Romans 12:13

Consider these questions. What constitutes bravery to you? What course of action would genuinely display the most courage? Look deep inside yourself, from the depths of your own conscience and ask: what is right?