The Land of the Free, and the home of making a buck

My wonderful friends at the Tabernacle Baptist Church put a lovely thought on their sign out by the road (2008-07-01). This one reads: If the brave never left home, there would be no land of the free. This is a touching sentiment in these needlessly hawkish times and I am sure that these words give some solace to people who have had, still have, and have lost loved ones and friends in the armed forces.

However, this pandering makes me sick. Here's why.

1) You might want to come in and pray for the well-being of the country and its service personnel--and we will pass the plate.
2) You might want to come in and pray for any loved ones and friends who are called to duty--and we will pass the plate.
3) While they are away, we will be here for you to offer comfort during this trying ordeal--and we will pass the plate.
4) When your loved ones or friends come home safe and well - or even if they are missing a few body parts - come in for a few rounds of prayers of thanksgiving for their return--and we will pass the plate.
5) If, sadly, Jebus had planned for them to be killed because he does not like them, you or just for the hell of it, come in for prayers of mourning--and we will pass the plate.
6) Don't forget us when it is time to stick the corpse in the ground. We have ample group facilities to host services for the loved one. We won't pass the plate but there will be a fee.

(I think that six is enough.)

Ignoring the contemporary setting in which this thought was given, let us examine the fallacy of its message. America became the land of the free when the Declaration of Independence was signed (and we will ignore the fact that not every humanoid was free with its signing). No one had to leave to do that. It was done here. Then came the war for independence, which was fought here to preserve our assertion of independence. Some battles were fought in Canada so that might constitute going elsewhere but really now...it's North America.

The message certainly seems to tie into the concept of punishing terrorism that wants to destroy our way of life. I like that because it reminds me of another group who punished a terrorist that threatened their way of life. That group was the Romans and they fixed their little problem about...oh...two thousand years ago.

Suggested reading: The Mythmaker: Paul and the Invention of Christianity

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