Oh, Please: This Is Not "Defense"

In her "From Where I Stand" column in the National Catholic Reporter, Joan Chittister expresses her sadness and frustration at the escalation of war in the Middle East. She admits to being troubled by the way the U.S. government has treated the Constitution and the Congress, the conduct of the war against Iraq, "now euphemistically called 'The Global War Against Terror,' " and the battle in Sudan over water and resources. But a problem that looms even larger is the conflict between Israel and Palestine:

"Whatever happens in Israel and Palestine, in other words, happens to us all, to most of the globe. By religious tradition. By ethnic heritage. By proxy.

"We are very aware of the stakes here in ways we are not in Darfur. We are not numb to the possibility that war here could mean war everywhere."

Chittister lists the complaints of both sides and the resulting reliance on violence and revenge as the final word. She notes that we have agencies to protect animals in jeopardy and referees to stop boxing matches when one opponent is physically harming the other.

"And if we do all this to protect animals, people, and professional fighters from danger, why wouldn't we do something to save old men, widows, and children from becoming political carnage?"

Chittister courageously asks: "Is it anti-semitic to want human beings to act humanely?' That question needs to be stated as the mayhem in the Middle East threatens the lives of innocent civilians on both sides.