This morning at the swim pool I met a woman and heard her story -- she and her husband are both ex-Marines, and they're organizing a
Valor Run for our area. In honor of the 160 women soldiers who have been killed in Iraq and Afghanistan they are running 160 miles over four days, forty miles per day. They're recruiting other people to run or walk a few miles with them, or in the case of the swimmers, to swim 40 laps on the same day. All to raise awareness (not money, for once.)
Laudable, selfless, symbolic, brave....
As I was watching her speak, I kept thinking -- why are these women dead? What purpose did our combat serve? I realize war is not the soldier's fault -- but this is a volunteer army. Those women chose to put themselves in harm's way. Sure, they made "the ultimate sacrifice" (as the website puts it) but to what end? For what purpose?
I get the same sense of disconnect talking to xtians. They get so caught up in the details of their faith and rituals they they forget to step back and look at the big picture, to question the foundation of what they're promoting. When I do, I find myself not quite so supportive of what looks on the surface to be so laudable.
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