“They used chemical weapons, we must do something to stop them.” A justification widely used in support of President Obama’s decision to launch a military strike against Syria.
We fought the Civil War to end slavery and racism. We fought the Second World War to end fascism. Did we end racism? Did we end fascism? Howard Zinn
At the time of the Revolutionary War, “a not inconsiderable Quaker element was on principle opposed to war, as itself a greater evil than any it might seek to right.”
Michelle Obama is against military intervention in Syria. Does the President dismiss Michelle’s dissent as “womanish”?
Patriarchy is a system of male dominance, rooted in the ethos of war which legitimates violence, sanctified by religious symbols, in which men dominate women through the control of female sexuality, with the intent of passing property to male heirs, and in which men who are heroes of war are told to kill men, and are permitted to rape women, to seize land and treasures, to exploit resources, and to own or otherwise dominate conquered people.
“[W]e must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military–industrial complex.” Dwight D. Eisenhower
The drums of war have stopped beating publically–at least for now. Obama’s decision to ask Congressional authorization to bomb Syria for 90 days—remember that number, 90 days–has been tabled—at least for now. But make no mistake, the military industrial complex is still barking at the heels of US government decison-makers. The notion that while women may be for peace, “real men must make war” is still operative in the American psyche. Continue reading “WAR, WAR, WHAT ARE WE FIGHTING FOR? by Carol P. Christ”
Feminism and Religion 