Military Families Display Doubts; Archdiocese Pays Out

Articles I linked (over to the left, under "del.icio.us") from today’s New York Times:

First, an article about military families finally getting overtly weary, or fed up, with the war in Iraq. This is a pretty amazing development, actually. It takes a lot to get a member of the military, or a member of a military family, to say in public that maybe the “mission” just isn’t right. I grew up in a military family, and I have some sense of the stick-it-out and support-the-mission attitude that is deeply embedded in military life. In fact, it would be impossible to have the kind of military forces that we do have, if it were not so; you could not have people sent off to kill, and be killed, at this kind of pace unless you had military forces (and their families) who were indoctrinated into extremely strong support for doing whatever is asked of them. If you are a member of a military family, you absolutely must believe in what your soldier is doing, and be proud of him or her; otherwise, frankly, you would be unable to deal with the reality of the situation. You really must close your mind and your eyes and ears to any voices of dissent; you also must refuse to listen to the doubts that arise in your own mind. Otherwise, you would be unable to feel the comfort (slight though in may be) of believing that your soldier is engaged in a noble and necessary pursuit.

And, if you do entertain doubts, you must not ever do so in public; that kind of talk belongs only “within the family.” Yet we see a shift taking place. According to the article (and other recent articles in other publications), the disaster that is the war in Iraq is finally becoming un-deniable. The death tolls, military and civilian, both, are staggering. And members of military families are beginning to show signs that their stalwart support of this mission is diminishing. They are recognizing that it is not disloyal to look at reality and name it for what it is. Finally, they are asking that their soldiers be brought home.

Another article: $660 million. That’s how much the Archdiocese of Los Angeles is (apparently) prepared to pay out to settle the sexual abuse claims now pending against it. That is more than half a BILLION dollars! It boggles the mind. Remind me again, someone: Why must we have an all-celibate, all-male priesthood, operating within a closed-door feudal system?