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| Cooooooool. |
My parents fly the American flag on Memorial Day and the Fourth of July. They could probably launch into a lengthy impromptu presentation on why America is the greatest country in the world, complete with sparklers and some patriotic jell-o squares. I think they gave us a pretty strong respect for the great U.S. of A.
I once asked my Dad if he was disappointed that none of his kids expressed an interest in the military. "Are you kidding?" He replied, "absolutely not!" My sister and I recently joked about how terrible we would be in the military. She'd complain about the heat, I'd cry every time a drill sergeant approached me, neither of us could ever shoot at someone, even if they were aiming a gun at us. The military and the Gambles would just be a poor mix (I'd like to take this moment to thank my dad for not filling our house with guns, camouflage, and other silly military paraphernalia).
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| (Thanks Dad) |
Apparently Goshen College, a small Mennonite college in Indiana, has decided that they will no longer play the National Anthem at their athletic events. I caught part of an interview with one of their administrators today during my lunch break. Things like this always peak my interest.
I am a huge proponent of separation of church and state. I am also a supporter of separation of state and church. A part of me always squirms a little bit when the Pledge of Allegiance, the National Anthem, or bits of presidential speeches are delivered from the pulpit. During the 2004 election, I was sitting in a pew at the church my parents still attend and the pastor asked the congregation who among them planned to vote democrat that year. Several couples raised their hands, some more proud than others. The pastor then spent the rest of his sermon telling them why John Kerry would be a terrible leader and that the ideals of the democratic party just simply don't line up with Biblical teaching.
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| Jesus would be so pleased. |
I returned to the church several years later and a boy dressed like Abraham Lincoln stood in front of the audience and recited the Gettysburg Address. Cute? Maybe, depends on how old the kid was. My brother's church has "God and Country Day" in the summer. There is just something very disturbing to me about pledging allegiance to a flag when everything I have ever learned from Biblical teaching states that my identity is in Christ, not my country of origin.
Nationalism can be a very scary thing. It pits us against the potential Samaritans of the world, creating this "us vs. them" mentality. Don't get me wrong, I love living in this country. I was given the freedom of a childhood, the freedom to live in a safe neighborhood, the freedom to choose my own career and pursue it, but these freedoms don't make me any better than those who weren't granted them. Our value isn't found in our nationalities.
Now, Goshen College has decided that they will no longer play the National Anthem because they are pacifists. Singing about rockets and bombs completely undermines one of their basic values. I say Kudos to them. Its a gutsy move and a lot of ignorant people will send some alarming hate mail their way. I hope that they maintain the grace and peace that the Mennonite church is known for.