Put Out More Flags Saturday, September 11, 2004

Church this morning, hoping for something significant. Nothing in the gospels or homily that spoke to the date directly; no comments afterward. But I was in the mood for the service, as I rarely find myself these days, and it came home hard. I've been in a churchy mood generally. I recently read some Richard John Neuhaus (a book on the significance of Good Friday) and a scholarly analysis of Peter's role in the NT and afterward. I think I've become sort of Petrine in my politics: blundering forward enthusiastically, usually winding up rebuked somehow. The hope, of course, is that enthusiasm with good intentions is enough, and eventually the details you trample on will sort themselves out.

Sometimes they don't, and sometimes the intentions aren't as good as you hope. By quoting the following I don't want to draw a direct parallel with our current situation; you all know where I stand on that, and my opinion hasn't changed. But there's a lot of truth in this paragraph. I present it in the interest of good Catholic humility, and the equally good journalistic principle that you bolster your case by letting the other side have its say.

Evelyn Waugh, from the Sword of Honour trilogy:

"Is there any place that is free from evil? It is too simple to say that only the Nazis wanted war. These Communists wanted it too. It was the only way in which they could come to power. Many of my people wanted it, to be revenged on the Germans, to hasten the creation of the national state. It seems to me there was a will to war, a private honour that would be satisfied by war. They could assert their manhood by killing and being killed. They would accept hardships and recompense for having been selfish and lazy. Danger justified privilege. I knew Italians--not very many, perhaps--who felt this. Were there none in England?"

"God forgive me," said Guy. "I was one of them."


I address this to the protestors outside the Garden, as well as the neocons inside it, to Belgium and Paris and Berlin as well as Washington. All of us wanted to show what we're made of, and damned if we haven't.

This morning I prayed for peace, and I prayed for my enemies. God forgive me for not doing it sooner. But I still think the only way to ensure a just world, and a lasting peace, is for us to win this fight decisively. And I won't ask forgiveness for that. Whether that damns me or not, I don't know. More details as events warrant.

@ 9:33:00 AM,

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