Give Me A '63 Lincoln

I recently perused several dozen anti-Taliban cartoons and pictorial spoofs on the internet ... and I was not amused. Half the cartoons were obscene, most of them were hate-blinded and almost all advocated dealing with the Taliban (and terrorists-in-general) by a simple application of overwhelming force (e.g., nuking the entire country of Afghanistan into a lakebed). I suppose that by now some of the cartoonists have realized that Taliban totalitarianism and Islamic jihadism is not a problem that can be bombed into oblivion, but I was appalled by the ignorance and stupidity displayed by these American artists. Mind you, I hate terrorism and despotism, and I love political cartoons. I am not opposed to the use of military force and I profoundly respect and support our U. S. troops wherever they are deployed. However, I detest the delusion that a people's ideology can be changed by force and epithets.

I salute those who recognize that an ideological enemy must be respected and understood before it can be defeated. I congratulate those who condemn the perpetrators of evil, but who do not confuse those perpetrators with their dissenters of the same nation, race or religion.

Sunset photo of the Lincoln Memorial by Kaaren Graciano

I pray for myself and my fellow Americans, that we would rediscover the nobility that our forefathers demonstrated in the face of war. And that if possible, our nobility would not come at the high price they paid for theirs. God, give us the grace to "overcome evil with good" (Rom 12.21).