Posted on 06/07/2011 10:17:26 AM PDT by Nachum
Goshen - A small northern Indiana college has decided to stop playing "The Star-Spangled Banner" at sporting events after starting to do so for the first time last year. Goshen College's board of directors says it will find an alternative that honors the country and the Mennonite Church-affiliated school's pacifist traditions. The 1,000-student college has been playing an instrumental version of the national anthem, followed by a peace prayer, before games and other events. Some were upset with the school's decision last year because the song's lyrics contain references to using war and military might to defend the country.
(Excerpt) Read more at wthr.com ...
Throughout his career, Chesterton was a vigorous enemy of pacifism. What he did believe in was the right, or the duty rather, of self-defense and the defense of others.
Chesterton was also a vigorous enemy of militarism. Both ideas, he argued, were really a single idea — that the strong must not be resisted. The militarist, he said, uses this idea aggressively as a conqueror, as a bully. The pacifist uses the idea passively by acquiescing to the conqueror and permitting himself and others around him to be bullied. Of the two, Chesterton thought the pacifist far less admirable. In fact, the pacifist, for him, was “the last and least excusable on the list of the enemies of society”.
They preach that if you see a man flogging a woman to death you must not hit him. I would much sooner let a leper come near a little boy than a man who preached such a thing.
This should not be understood as a lust for fighting. “The horror of war”, Chesterton wrote, “is the sentiment of a Christian and even of a saint”. But in refusing to strike any blow, pacifists announce their readiness to surrender the higher ideals of “liberty, self-government, justice, and religion”.
And Onward Christian Soldiers is ... ?
An excellent point. Although we have one official national anthem, there are three unofficial anthems (with My Country ‘Tis of Thee) that celebrate our nation that could be substituted. “God Bless America” would seem to be the most rousing musically and lyrically.
Some people can’t help themselves. They just have to walk through the revolving door without pushing, and then admire themselves for their wondrous virtue.
Good on you! :)
-Rex
Great post! Thanks, RR!
-Rex
How about “The Good Ship Lollipop”?
Thats where these people dwell, in their heads
“A “pacifist male” is a contradiction in terms. Most self-described “pacifists” are not pacific; they simply assume false colors. When the wind changes, they hoist the Jolly Roger.”
—Robert A. Heinlein
“Those who refuse to support and defend a state have no claim to
protection by that state. Killing an anarchist or a pacifist should
not be defined as “murder” in a legalistic sense. The offence against
the state, if any, should be “using deadly weapons inside city
limits”. or “creating a traffic hazard”, or “Endangering bystanders”,
or other misdemeanor.
“However, the state may reasonably place a closed season on these
exotic asocial animals whenever they are in danger of becoming
extinct.”
—Robert A. Heinlein
An unbreakable union of free republics, Great Rus' joined together forever. Long live the creation of the will of the peoples, The united, the mighty Soviet Union!
CHORUS: Be glorified, our fatherland, united and free! The sure bulwark of the friendship of the peoples! The Soviet banner is the flag of the people, Let it lead from victory to victory!
I never meant to say that the Conservatives are generally stupid. I meant to say that stupid people are generally Conservative. I believe that is so obviously and universally admitted a principle that I hardly think any gentleman will deny it.
-John Stuart Mill
This is a historic Mennonite College. They have held steadfast in their pacifism for many years. If there is a tornado or natural disaster they are usually the first to help. I am not a pacifist but I attended a Quaker college and I have nothing but respect for these sects. They don’t change with the wind. They are not fair weather pacifists. Many of the medics in Vietnam were Mennonite! Give them some slack they are not jihadists!
Maybe they should play John Lennon’s “Give Peace A Chance” before their games.
{sarc}
Thanks for your comments. A friend of mine happens to be an Mennonite and is in fact a product of Goshen College. He is an outstanding individual - the world could use many more like him.
This is a PRIVATE - RELIGIOUS school.
How they conduct their business, whether you agree with it or not, is their business.
You might want to also review that musty old document you often refer to, but seem to selectively disremember.
I grew up in an Evangelical Congregational Church, which was an off shoot of the Mennonite Church that split at the same time as the Evangelical United Brethren.
I never heard a single word about pacifism in the church. It really surprises me. I guess that could be that part of the reason that EC church separated was because they didn’t want the centralized control of the Mennonite Church. The Mennonites that I knew were all plain people, I guess I might have known something about the pacifism because we considered them to be much like the Quakers, only stricter.
I didn’t know Mennonites were such pacifists that they refused to listen to Music/songs referring to war. I wonder how many books in the Bible they have to stop reading due to this aversion?
I can get in line with this, compared to the real hypocrites and their despicable behavior elsewhere. It’s a Mennonite school for goodness sake.
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