I started thinking about the Boston Marathon Bombing... and then about the perpetrators... and then about what other attacks are in the planning stages at this very moment...and then about how we can find that out. And I thought about waterboarding.
And I watched an old Mission Impossible (tv series...o.l.d.) and they threatened to bomb a bomber, and then I watched a LOST episode...where torture was used. The theme of torture was tracking me yesterday. But it wasn't torture for tortures sake. It was torture for information.
Did you follow the events in Boston? I sure didn't. Maybe I just wasn't all that shocked that there are people wanting to kill Americans who are making plans and executing them.
Remember "Never Forget"? Is it just a catchy phrase?
See, to 'never forget' 9/11 does not mean that we just remember those whose lives were lost. No, although those lives were important, it is not just 'in memoriam' that we remember. It is also, 'in protection of'.
There appears to be a radical people among us and those few believe that we are the ENEMY.
They don't just dislike us. No, they HATE us. They believe with all their hearts that we, with our restaurant consuming, SUV driving, cable watching selves, are evil. Hannibal Lector evil, not just Cruella DeVille evil.
They believe unto d.e.a.t.h. that we must be destroyed. They believe this so fiercely that they are pursuing us, on our own soil, at our own events, and following us into our own homes with scenes that terrorize us from CNN.
They are training their children to despise us as well. Haven't we all seen the scenes of young and old alike burning the American flag, rejoicing over the loss of American lives, celebrating our despair? Remember that verse, "Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it." Pro. 22:6? It stands to reason that this goes both ways. Whatever way you train, good or bad, will be the way he will go.
When I see pictures of athletes that have their legs blown off I am not upset at the idea of "sleep deprivation" used in interrogation. This does not seem cruel or unusual when being used to gather information that will save lives.
I have an eight year old. I see how much he adores his dad. When Josh talks, Noah raptly pays attention. Josh is his hero, his example of how to be a husband, father, and just all around good man. When I think of how excited he would be to see his hero finish a long endeavor, like a marathon, a little thrill runs through my heart.
And when I think of how there was an eight year old who, while waiting excitedly for his dad to cross a finish line, was mercilessly and excruciatingly murdered, I think water boarding to discover where the next child is in danger is the LEAST that officials should initiate.
I'm sure mothers all around America would gladly see that terrorist laying down with a washcloth over his face if it meant that their own 8 year olds would be protected. Some, if not most, of them would gladly take the water bottle themselves and apply.
I know I probably would.
Because I love my family. And I want them protected. And their lives are worth a terrorists few moments of fear and discomfort.
And I don't think this makes me any less Christian. On the contrary, I believe God has blessed us with four little boys to protect. And if He has entrusted us with them, then we are accountable to Him for their lives. We better do whatever we can to keep them healthy, fed, in a warm home, etc...because we'll have to answer for what we've done with His generous gifts.
Can you love someone who is trying to kill your children? I can pray for them, I can hope that they confess, and repent, and that in doing so can live in peace with us. That seems pretty loving to me. But if they come to my house, threaten my children, then I feel the priority should be to protect my innocent children.
To everything there is a balance and if I were to define torture it would look a whole lot more like putting a dirty, metal/nail/glass filled bomb in a crowded area than depriving terrorists of sleep.
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| At least we can get intel from water boarding. A drone garners....what?? |
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