My parents and I have just watched a compelling documentary chronicling the events leading up to and immediately following the US invasion of Iraq, an occupation which persists to this day. More than anything I am troubled. Sincerely my heart aches with sadness, not only for the thousands of American soldiers whose lives have been lost in this conflict and for the vacancies that are left in the homes of their families, but also for the hundreds of thousand of Iraqi soldiers and civilians who have been witness to and victims of some of the greatest horrors of our time.

At this juncture, I am becoming aware of a very interesting connection. In the summer of 2005 I participated in an internship program working in a hospital in Dresden, Germany. The city for centuries has been revered for its breathtaking beauty, resting on the banks of the Elbe with its elegant opera houses and ornate cathedrals. During the Second World War the city was all but completely devastated in what was the worst fire-bombing to date. The city of Dresden was not of strategic importance militarily. The attack was made perhaps not to secure a certain victory, but to ensure that the Germans were thoroughly defeated.

I am now on the eve of departing to work in Viet Nam, a country deeply affected by what they call the ‘American War’. The old demilitarized zone (DMZ) where we will spend a portion of our time was more heavily bombed than all of Europe during WWII. A country where presently children are born with severe abnormalities as a result of the residual and lasting effect of the chemical defoliants that saturated the landscape.

I am in awe of the capabilities of man to inflict pain and suffering on another man. This is destruction on a scale and scope that employs every effort of our imagination and empathy to comprehend.

Sadly these conflicts are not a thing of the past, but if we are willing we can work together to make them so.

In the military and in politics people speak in terms of victory and defeat. In society we speak of success or failure. In all of this I feel that what resonates is the excess and toxicity of the pride of man—a pride that infects us with a sense of ‘us’ versus ‘them’. That ‘they’ must be defeated so that ‘we’ may be victorious. That ‘they’ must be eliminated so that ‘we’ may prosper. This way of thinking is very destructive not only for our world but for ourselves.

So, today I pray for humility.

I pray for a humility that will enable us, enliven us, encourage us, and invigorate us. That no act be too great, nor none too small made in the name of peace and community.


“A funny feeling creeps inside
it cannot find a place to hide
in a cage its learned to hate
now I’m opening the gate

So that all may know and see it true
that they are all like us
And we are all like you

No line can divide us
or border deny us
the right to be free and in peace and alive

This feeling inside”
---source unknown