Newsweek hasn't been the most dependable magazine for Evangelical Christians through the years, but this article was written by Senator John McCain. Love him hate him or be indifferent to him (I don't care) but he did survive the torture of the North Vietnamese and is a recognized American military hero. He did not throw his medals back. He did not lie about his service record; he really did get shot down while in combat. He wrote this piece called "Torture's Terrible Toll" and it was published in Newsweek magazine. Please give it a read. Representative Jack Murtha is probably right, but that is not the problem. The problem is ... if we call ourselves Christian ... if we hate what was done by the Nazis and Communists; if we hate the beheadings and torture by our enemies ... shouldn't we be different? Where ever possible, we must choose the high road. We must choose righteousness. We must trust that God will help us if we believe him and live according to the ways he has taught us. Two wrongs do not add up to a right, if we are not better than the enemy how can we ask our soldiers to fight? If our President is not following the law then he is betraying the Christians he used to get into and hold office. No, I don't want Nancy Pelosi as speaker of the house, but I don't want American rights to be eroded by a President who thinks he is above the law either. Now, before anyone thinks I am simply blasting the President, understand that I am an American. I will protect American interests, our way of life, our culture and support our government with every fiber of my being. As an American I feel it is our obligation to find ALL terrorists and eliminate their ability to terrorize us or anyone else in the world, by whatever means is necessary. I am a veteran; I have and would offer my life in defense of our country. I am the father of a daughter and the step-father of a son whom I have raised to understand the importance of hard work, commitment to excellence and free will. I am a brother to two men and three women who consider their freedom more valuable than every other gift bestowed on humans by our father above. I am the son of Christians, he is a decorated veteran of the Korean War, a (now retired) construction contractor and she a house wife, both Americans. I am a husband to a loving wife whose family came to the United States with nothing but the clothes on their backs. She studied and became an American Citizen, her family, never taking a dime from the government, raised themselves from refuge of Communism to the middle class. We all know that sometimes it takes war! We agree that these terrorists attacked us, but if it comes to war; shouldn't we fight it all the way, bring the entire strength of the United States to bear? Still, we must be careful, when fighting the monster, not to become the monster ourselves. We must not support torture of prisoners in any form, foreign or domestic. We should not believe in, nor support treating any American citizen by different standards based on the potential severity of their crime or their intention to commit a crime. American citizens who participate in terrorist acts within the United States should be treated as criminals. Terrorists who commit terrorist acts in other countries should be punished in accordance with that country's laws. Any country who does not punish terrorism should be considered an enemy. We are free! Freedom, both yours and mine, is the only thing for which I am willing to both die and (if necessary) kill. ONLY FREEDOM and NOTHING ELSE! |
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