It sometimes happens that the men who preach most vehemently about evil and the punishment of evil, so that they seem to have practically nothing else on their minds except sin, are really unconcious haters of other men. They think the world does not appreciate them, and this is their way of getting even.–Thomas Merton, Seeds of Contemplation.
This quote struck me once again tonight as I pondered the ramifications of the U.S. Senate’s recent vote to pass the Kyl-Lieberman amendment which paves the way for hostilities against Iran. Senator’s Lieberman and Kyl and the seventy-two senators who voted in favor of the amendment are unconscious haters of other men. They must be. By what sophistry do they attempt to veil the real reasons for voting to authorize force to attack Iran. Both of my senators Schumer and Clinton voted for the amendment. I suppose after the war starts they’ll both say they never realized that their vote would lead to war. None of their children or families will be called on to serve over there. There can be no doubt that Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is off his rocker and that he is a bad man, but one bad man does not justify the wholesale slaughter of innocents that will occur as our planes surgically strike their cities. How many innocents will be slaughtered while our senators look the other way?