{"id":894,"date":"2015-12-05T23:50:41","date_gmt":"2015-12-06T04:50:41","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.joshuastairhime.com\/?p=894"},"modified":"2018-12-04T22:54:16","modified_gmt":"2018-12-05T03:54:16","slug":"confusion","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.joshuastairhime.com\/index.php\/confusion\/","title":{"rendered":"Confusion (DOP #5 2015)"},"content":{"rendered":"

I usually try to write from a place of certainty. \u00a0The topics I chose are ones that I have fought long and hard to define in my mind. \u00a0This means that when I am writing I know what I want to say because I have worked hard to answer my own questions on the subject.<\/p>\n

That will not be the case today, but not for lack of trying.<\/p>\n

There has been one post that I have wanted to write for at least 2 years now, and I still don’t know how to write it. \u00a0This is the problem with waiting until I am sure before beginning a piece, it means if I am unsure, the piece will never be written. \u00a0 So instead of continuing to ignore this topic…the one that brings tears to my eyes when I am reminded of it by a story on the radio, I’ll expose my thought process. \u00a0 Perhaps someone can help me make sense of it all.<\/p>\n

\"syriangirl2\"<\/a>
\nAt some point in 2012 (maybe sooner) I felt drawn to the conflict in Syria. \u00a0The tragedy of it all made me want to take some action to change the outcome. \u00a0I would hear (and still do hear) stories of people fleeing their life long homes to escape the violence surrounding them. \u00a0I wanted to help in some way, but to this day I still can’t decide how.<\/p>\n

Part of me wants to push society to act. \u00a0To forcefully stop the bloodshed. \u00a0Unfortunately this means that for a time, there will be more bloodshed. \u00a0When I am thinking this way, I think back to the non-interventionist policies (of the United States) that seemed to lead up to the escalation of World War II. \u00a0Many argue that if the United States had joined the fight in Europe more quickly, perhaps the war could have ended years sooner. \u00a0(This same theory holds true for our role in The Great War.) \u00a0As a teenager graduating from high school, I supported the invasion of Iraq because I saw it as intervening in a conflict that was going to get out of hand. \u00a0With the benefit of hindsight, I would revise my support for that particular conflict. \u00a0I believe that most of those who served in Iraq served honorably (including my brother, of whom I am proud) but that the conflict itself was not honorable. \u00a0There were probably still other ways open to the world to resolve the situation. \u00a0Hindsight is 20\/20 as they say.<\/p>\n

This same desire to act wishes that we had struck back against ISIS in the first week of it’s campaign in Iraq. \u00a0Perhaps if we had acted more quickly, the quagmire brewing in Syria could have been avoided. \u00a0 Of course many people point to the Iraq conflict as the birth of ISIS, and there is probably truth in those charges.<\/p>\n

The obvious alternative to intervention is non-intervention. \u00a0Non-intervention could have stopped the birth of ISIS by not starting a seemingly unnecessary war in Iraq in 2003. \u00a0We didn’t know at the time that this would be the result, but many people did predict it. \u00a0A non-interventionist strategy in Syria means that the United States would not be supporting any of the rebel, terrorist, state, or coalition actors in the region. \u00a0In a way we pursued this strategy until the past year. \u00a0The conflict in Syria pre-dates the official birth of ISIS by several years. \u00a0We did not begin serious interventions until this year.<\/p>\n

\"Photo<\/a>

Photo by Niclas Hammarstrom (I hate to post this without permission…but it is a powerful photo.)<\/p><\/div>\n

So as people continue to be killed and pushed out of their homes, I don’t know what I want from the world. \u00a0Should the world step back and let the Syrians figure it out for themselves? \u00a0This seems reasonable, IF people that God loves and wants to reach were not being killed by our inaction. \u00a0I can’t feel comfortable leaving the innocent Syrians to their fate simply because it is the easiest action. \u00a0I can’t feel comfortable knowing that real souls are being lost to a fight they never asked for.<\/p>\n

Can I argue for forceful intervention though? \u00a0I am not naive enough to think that there would not be many more deaths before the situation has a resolution. \u00a0What if my family members were sent to Syria? \u00a0What if they were killed there? \u00a0But then, what of the families of those who wish to flee but can not afford to be smuggled across a border into a safer country? \u00a0How much longer will there BE safer countries?<\/p>\n

Where do we draw the line between right and wrong? \u00a0Do we as Christians have an obligation to help those who are oppressed and downtrodden? \u00a0The way I read the BIble seems to suggest that we do have a responsibility to help. \u00a0What then should I do?<\/p>\n

Jesus gave his life for the whole world, but how could my life change the situation of the Syrians or the next nationality to be threatened?<\/p>\n

Please someone, speak some wisdom into this situation. \u00a0I don’t know what to do.<\/p>\n

What does peace ask of me now?<\/p>\n

What does my desire to be a peacemaker mean in this context?<\/p>\n

What is the role of the Church in these troubled times?<\/p>\n

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25 Days for Peace is a cooperative blogging experiment between myself and five other artists, designed to explore the facets of peace, particularly centered around this season intended to experience the peace of Christ. Visit\u00a0this page<\/a>\u00a0to see the other contributions to this journey, and like it to join with us in exploring what peace means. \u00a0(Thanks for the great description Amanda!) \u00a0<\/i><\/p>\n

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