NEW BLOG!

I really hate to do this to all of you, BUT I have officially changed my name to Christensen (Richard couldn't be happier) and I can't use my school e-mail anymore! So, I had to create a new blog address. Don't worry, everything is the same, it's just a new name. Add us to your blog rolls!

http://richard-and-erika.blogspot.com/

Thanks!

Thoughts...(warning: LONG)

My awesome SIL Anna inspired me to write my thoughts. In life we often get too busy to really, truly, deeply think about things that are important in the world, in our lives, and for our sanity. Lately a lot of my thoughts have been revolving around politics. It's what I do and it's kinda my thing. I try very hard to keep politics out of my personal life, oh well. But in all honesty, that's just one part of my life. Another thing my thoughts have been revolving around are my beliefs. A much larger part of my life. Life gets interesting when I start to reconcile one with the other, which is a reason I like to do it. So, lately I've been questioning my political views and if they can reconcilable with my faith. (Which is the right way around, for safety's sake one should not be questioning your faith to see if it reconciles with your political beliefs. Seen too many friends stray away from the gospel.) So if you are not interested at all in politics, history, or my insane rambling, please stop here!

I've been thinking about a lot of things and measuring them up to the truth. There are a lot of things I could say and testify to, but this specific topic has been on my mind. If any of you have a chance check out these clips of a documentary I would recommend everyone to watch: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/ghosts/video/

I warn, it is not for the faint hearted. It is about the atrocities in Rwanda. A tragedy that had occurred in my lifetime. Hundreds of thousands of Tutsi Rwandans were killed by their neighbors while the world watched and did nothing. The President of the United States expressed no remorse after the fact. The United Nations failed to provide aid and manpower necessary to protect those seeking refuge from the violence.

I know there are many opinions in the world, but one side seems curiously hypocritical. The political left. While many scream for action to help disenfranchised people in the world, many ardently oppose the use of force. Many people will not be shaken from the belief that guns are bad. While, the political right may not be in the right to have a forceful knee-jerk response in all cases, in this case, over half a million lives would have been saved if minimal action had been taken. It is so easy to believe, war is wrong, force is wrong, America should not be involved overseas, but every case must be analyzed independently. Blanket statements are irresponsible.

But when it really comes down to it, the Rwandan genocide is not a political issue. The situation in Rwanda was a moral one, and sadly America failed. America yielded to the pressure of weaker states and took the easy road. The UN sent men in with no guns, while gun wielding radicals rounded them up and killed them along with the genocidal victims. Guns can be good. Guns could have saved the thousands of defenseless men, women, and children that were being hacked to death by crude machetes in the hills of Rwanda. My heart goes out to those that stayed in Rwanda while all others left and withdrew their troops and support for the life saving work they were attending to. I am ashamed at the way in which our President reacted.

In watching this movie, it tears your heart out to think there's nothing you can do. I've watched it multiple times and it still shakes me; just knowing that kind of evil exists in the world. At the end of the day, we can't go back in time and we can't as individuals fix these problems. But we can remember what is important. I've decided that I can't always say that I hate force and coercion while my family sleeps safe every night. I can't say that I hate military policies while I have a roof over my head. I can't say that I hate guns, when guns make it possible for me to live without having to own one.