Cain and McCain

A friend sent an e-mail a couple weeks ago:

Happy Memorial Day, Dan! "Cain and McCain" is the title of the following short reflection by Fr. Emmanuel Charles McCarthy in 2005:

"There is something appallingly wrong with the Christianity within a society which ennobles as a hero a fellow Christian who goes 7,500 miles to napalm sons and daughters, fathers and mothers, grandfathers and grandmothers of people he does not know. Then when stopped from pursuing his murderous agenda, by those he is attempting to kill, complains of his non-murderous treatment by them. Moreover, nearly 40 years later, he still presents himself as the aggrieved party because he and his fellow sky-killer captives were not treated as well as he thinks that the men, women, and children whom they were napalming should have treated them. He, nonetheless, is continually being honored by Churches and Christians of distinction. The issue here is not John McCain--for who can fathom, let alone judge, any person's consciousness and conscience. The issue here is the acceptance by Christians and Church leaders of this utterly anti-Gospel behavior as being consistent with faithfully following Jesus--indeed accepting of it as a manifestation of Christian heroism."

Here's my response. What's yours?

Thanks, ______ --

Father McCarthy warms the heart of this 60s-era, war-protesting, draft-resisting, Ramparts-reading, pinko pacifist.

And yet, and yet, . . .

He's obviously preaching to the choir, and I wonder how much value there is in that. True, even the choir needs to be exhorted occasionally, but does it have to be in a tone that will alienate anyone outside the choir? Even 40 years ago (gosh, 40 years!), I was uncomfortable with the "baby-killer" language of the left.

And he can say "The issue here is not John McCain," but that sounds disingenuous to me, kind of like Antony saying "I come to bury Caesar, not to praise him."

And a question of fact: Does "he still present[ ] himself as the aggrieved party"? I don't pay much attention to him, but I've never seen him talk about his captivity.

And as for honoring him, I think one can believe that after he was captured he conducted himself honorably and with enormous courage, while not denying that before he was captured he did, or tried to do, terrible things in that plane of his.

Anyway, I'm glad to learn about the fire-breathing Father McCarthy, and I've already searched out some of his stuff on the web (Center for Christian Nonviolence).

Thanks again.