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<a href="http://www.counterpunch.org/alberts04022010.html" eudora="autourl">
http://www.counterpunch.org/alberts04022010.html<br>
</a></font><font face="Verdana" size=2 color="#990000">April 2 - 4,
2010<br><br>
</font><h1><font face="Times New Roman, Times" size=4><b>The True Meaning
of Easter<br><br>
<br>
</i></font><font face="Times New Roman, Times" size=5 color="#990000">
Resurrection is for the Living
</b></font></h1><font face="Times New Roman, Times" size=4>By Rev.
WILLIAM E. ALBERTS <br><br>
</font><font face="Verdana" size=6 color="#990000">A</font><font size=3>t
Easter, throughout America, throngs of Christians will fill their
churches enthusiastically singing hymns of “the resurrection of the
dead,” while their government’s “Christian soldiers” are “marching as to
war,” killing, maiming, and uprooting throngs of faceless Muslim men,
women and children and other non-Christians <i>in their
name</i>.<br><br>
Christians of various denominations will lift up their voices and shout,
“Alleluia! . . . The strife is o’er, the battle done; the victory of life
is won.” (Words: Anonymous; Music: Giovanni P. De Palestrina, <i>The
United Methodist Hymnal</i>, 1989) In the face of the continuing
“strife” in Iraq, where well over one million civilians have been killed
and some four million more uprooted, as a result of the Easter
worshippers’ government’s falsely based illegal invasion and occupation
of Iraq <i>in their name</i>. (See “Civilian deaths may top 1 million,
poll data indicate,” <i>Los Angeles Times</i>, Sept. 14, 2007) And
in Pakistan, the number of civilians made internal refugees just by the
recent US-pressured Pakistani military’s “battle” against Taliban havens
is estimated to be between 2 and 3 million, creating terrible
humanitarian “strife.” (See “Pakistan’s Refugee Disaster,” by Stewart J.
Lawrence, <i>Counterpunch</i>, Dec. 18-20, 2009).<br><br>
Followers of a “risen Christ” will crowd into sanctuaries across America
and sing a favorite resurrection song”:<br><br>
</font>
<dl>
<dd>Love’s redeeming work is done,<br>
<dd>Fought the fight, the battle won,<br>
<dd>Death in vain forbids him rise,<br>
<dd>Christ has opened Paradise. <br><br>
<dd>(“Christ the Lord Is Risen Today,” Words: Charles Wesley; Music: Lyra
Davidica, The United Methodist Hymnal</i>.)<br><br>
</dl>And far away their government’s military’s pilotless drones and
Special Forces helicopters continue putting to death civilians of all
ages in Afghanistan and Pakistan in their name</i>. But the Easter
worshippers may find comfort in the prescribed apology of top US
commander, General Stanley A. McChrystal, who said, in response to the
latest airstrike that ended any earthly</i> “paradise” for 27 Afghan
civilians, “We are extremely saddened by this tragic loss of innocent
lives.” His next words also were intended to salve the consciences
of the Easter masses more than to reassure the Afghan people: “I have
made it clear to our forces that we are here to protect the Afghan
people</i> [italics added].” For good measure, he added, “I pledge
to strengthen our efforts to regain your trust to build a brighter future
for all Afghans.” (The New York Times</i>, Feb. 23, 2010.)<br><br>
“We are here to protect the Afghan people.” It is as if the US
military were invited rather than having mercilessly bombed and then
invaded Afghanistan. The arrogance of American imperialistic
exceptionalism. That redefines invading as invited, killing as
“protecting,” destroying as “building” and controlling as
“trusting.” Such exceptionalistic words are music to the ears of
like-minded exceptionalistic-believing Christians, especially at
Easter-time when their “risen Christ” is proof of Christianity’s own
uniqueness and superiority.<br><br>
General McChrystal’s public relations assault on reality makes disappear
the violent termination of “a brighter future” for the Muslims who get in
the way of or resist the “goodness” of America’s imperialistic foreign
policy. A foreign policy whose assumed aim is not “to build a
brighter future for all Afghans,” but to brighten</i> profits for
America’s military-industrial complex. The other assumed aim is
controlling Afghanistan because of the strategic access it provides for
the huge oil and natural gas resources in the Caspian Sea area.
(See, “The US War in Afghanistan: Another Oil War?,” by David Michael
Smith, <a href="http://www.impactpress.com/">www.impactpress.com</a>,
June-July, 2002) Like Iraq with its enormous oil reserves,
America’s mission in Afghanistan is fuel and profits for the
political-controlling corporate elite not “the bright future” of freedom
and peace for the Afghan people. Facts most Christians do not want
to be disturbed by, especially on their holiest of Sundays when they are
worshipping “the resurrection of the dead.”<br><br>
For most Christians, Easter is about a sunrise that brightens</i> an
empty tomb. “Lives again our glorious King,” they harmonize,
“Where, O death, is now they sting? . . . Once he died our souls to
save</i> [italics added], Where’s thy victory, boasting grave?”
(Ibid</i>) Faith in an eternally loving god in the face of death
especially is very comforting for many people. It meets very human
needs. Easter, however, for most Christians, is about individual
salvation not interpersonal solidarity. It is about personal
resurrection from the dead not community restoration for the
living. It is about an “open” tomb that is restricted.</i> It
is for believers only not justice for all. It is about eternity not
ethics, about right belief not just behavior. It is about the
resurrection of the dead not the living. </i>And in its
exceptionalistic </i>extreme, it invites those narcissistic voices of the
Christian faith to drown out the “sting of death” and the graves and
grief of faceless Muslims and other human beings and their loved
ones. They are victims of internationally condemned American crimes
against humanity committed by the Easter worshippers’ government in their
name</i>,<br><br>
Thus, at Easter, two of the world’s worst war criminals, former president
George W. Bush and his vice president, Dick Cheney, will be warmly
greeted in their respective United Methodist Churches, and may even join
in singing,<br><br>
<dl>
<dd>Crown him the Lord of peace,<br>
<dd>whose powers a scepter sways<br>
<dd>from pole to pole, that wars may cease,<br>
<dd>and all be prayer and praise.<br>
<dd>`His reign shall know no end,<br>
<dd>and round his pierced feet<br>
<dd>fair flowers of paradise extend<br>
<dd>
their fragrance ever sweet.<br><br>
<dd>(“Crown Him with Many Crowns,” Words: Matthew Bridges; Music: George
J. Elvey, The United Methodist Hymnal</i>, 1989)<br><br>
</dl>A self-portrayed man of prayer especially, former President Bush
“preyed” America into one war after another. (See Alberts,
“Faith-Based Deceptions: On Bended Knee,”
<a href="http://www.counterpunch.com/">www.counterpunch.com</a>, Oct.
22/24, 2004) Still cloaking his war crimes in piety, he recently
said that his “faith helped in tough times as president.” (Associated
Press</i>, USA TODAY.com, </i>Mar. 1, 2010) His “tough times” were
when he lied about Iraq possessing weapons of mass destruction to justify
his administration’s criminal war against Iraq. “Tough times” that
became deadly and destructive times for millions of Iraqi mothers and
fathers and their childrenand for close to 4400 American sons and
daughters killed and an estimated over one hundred thousand
wounded. (See, www.anti.war.com/casualties</i>)<br><br>
According to former vice president Cheney, all the deaths and destruction
in Iraq were worth it. He recently criticized the Obama
administration for “wrongly trying to take credit for any progress in
Iraq,” when they opposed the war. “If we’d followed the policies
they’d pursued from the outset or advocated from the outset,” Cheney
commented, “Saddam Hussein would still be in power in Baghdad</i>
today.”</i> (The New</i> York Times</i>, Feb. 15, 2010)
Probably. And all the dead</i> and wounded Iraqi and American human
beings would still be alive and whole.</i> And the UN weapons
inspectors would have finished their work, which the Bush
administration’s invasion of Iraq conveniently aborted, and found that
Hussein had no weapons of mass destructionnor ties to Al Qaeda, which
Bush and Cheney repeatedly claimed to justify their
administration’s pre-emptive war against Iraq.<br><br>
“Tough times.” Not for formers president Bush and vice president
Cheney. In the face of their glaring war crimes, the United
Methodist Church, with some resistance, has created the George W. Bush
Presidential Center, with its library and museum, at Southern Methodist
University in Dallas. And Bush’s “tough times” as president earned
him a book deal worth $7 million from Random House’s Crown Publishing
Group. (“Bush Book Deal Worth $7 million,” The Daily Beast</i>, Mar. 19,
2009). Bush’s criminal co-conspirator Cheney has also signed a book
contract, with Simon and Schuster, reportedly for over $2 million.
(“Cheney inks book deal - $2 million plus,” by Michael Calderon,
Politico</i>, June 24, 2009) And surely not “tough times” but
lucrative times</i> for Halliburton, where Cheney was CEO before becoming
vice president. Halliburton is the largest corporate contractor in
Iraq, and by 2005 reportedly received over $9 billion in no-bid contracts
for providing various support services to the US troops, the total
“mounting at about $6 billion a year, according to Army documents and
officials.” (“Halliburton: $9.6 Billion in Iraq So Far,” by Pamela Hess,
United Press International</i>, Feb. 25, 2005) The fact that Bush
and Cheney remain free and receive exceptional treatment is a commentary
on the moral numbness of so many Easter worshippers.<br><br>
The ethnocentric and exceptionalistic “love of God and country”
undermining America’s morality and security is also seen in the recent
Academy Award presentation for “Best Picture” to The Hurt
Locker</i>. This acclaimed Hollywood film provides another measure
of America’s immoral temperature. Its portrayal of the bravery of
American servicemen who locate and diffuse bombs in Iraq conveniently
overshadows the US military’s illegal massive “shock and awe” bombing of
Iraq, which indiscriminately killed and wounded tens of thousands of
civilians and greatly impacted the country’s life-sustaining
infrastructure. The Hurt Locker</i> is assumed to be an extension
of the status quo’s guardian mainstream media’s role of covering up
rather than uncovering the lies upon which grave injustices are
perpetuated by the US government abroad and at home.<br><br>
At Easter, multitudes of Christians will pack churches and celebrate “the
resurrection of the dead.” Tragically, the hearts of many are
deadened</i> to the victims of their government’s oppressive policies in
their name</i>. They have been manipulated by and bought into
political and corporate and religious fear- and war-mongering.
Rather than believing in animal sacrifice to ward off evil spirits,
Christians believe in human</i> sacrifice,</i> i.e., the sacrificing of
other people and their childrenand even their own children</i>to ward
off the evil spirits of those their government and its guardian media and
corporate profiteers and accommodating religious leaders designate as
“terrorists.” Sadly, they are victims of their own ethnocentric and
exceptionalistic Christian beliefs. Beliefs that prevent them from
seeing other persons as individuals who love and strive and laugh and cry
as they do. Their designated enemies are not “terrorists” but human
beings whose numbers will grow and whose grief and anger and desire for
revenge against America will surely intensify.<br><br>
America’s strength is not found in military force but in the universally
understood Golden Rule. It is in treating others as we want to be
treated that we discover a</i> shared way</i> to</i> eternal
life.</i> It is about the resurrection of the living. The
Biblical story of The Good Samaritan points the way.<br><br>
A lawyer asked Jesus, “ ‘Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal
life?’” When Jesus asked him, “What is written in the law,” he
correctly replied, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart
. . . and your neighbor as yourself.” Then the lawyer, “wanting to
justify himself,” asked the question which leads to the resurrection of
the living: “And who is my neighbor?” The real neighbor, Jesus
said, was not a priest nor a Levite who “passed by on the other side” of
a beaten and robbed traveler, but a Samaritan who dared to “come near him
. . . was moved by pity . . . bandaged his wounds” and continued to
provide care for him. (Luke 10: 25-37)<br><br>
Easter is about waking up</i> to reality</i> and saying no to the
injustices our government is committing in our name</i>. It is
about saying yes to and redressing America’s victimsin Afghanistan and
Pakistan and Iraq and the Palestinian territories and Haiti and
elsewhere. Easter is about drawing near to and empathizing with and
binding up the wounds of the fallen and honoring their human
rights. <br><br>
Easter is about the resurrection of the living</i>.<br><br>
Rev. William E. Alberts, Ph.D.</b> is a hospital chaplain and a diplomate
in the College of Pastoral Supervision and Psychotherapy. Both a
Unitarian Universalist and a United Methodist minister, he has written
research reports, essays and articles on racism, war, politics and
religion. He can be reached at
<a href="mailto:william.alberts@bmc.org">william.alberts@bmc.org</a>.<br>
<br>
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