The AGON: Struggle, War, and Unconditional Love

Things are beginning to get very ugly in Washington and, I imagine, around the family holiday tables, not to mention the bars, these days. The rhetoric about this war is torrid and accusations and counter-accusations fly. Consider the following from an author interviewed by Fox News, and reported by Think Porgress.com:

When ABC or any other outlet gives away our national secrets, or verifies them, and underscores them by repeating what others have said, and seems to verify for the world — look, they are putting Americans at risk. They’re putting our allies at risk, as you observed. And they’re putting our programs at risk. … But worst of all, Bill, it’s killing American soldiers. [The O’Reilly Factor, 12/6/05]

This man is accusing the press of killing our soldiers in the field! This goes along with the tirade I endured while listening to Rush Limbaugh this afternoon. He must've had his thesaurus open in front of him, looking at every word related to coward, traitor, etc.

Of course, the name-calling is happening on both sides. I'm a scrapper myself and see nothing wrong in engaging in creative confrontation and heated, even super-hot, debate. One side of me wants to say, "It's about time." The other, more pacific side, is anxious that this type of animosity will result in people hurting each other physically.

The Greek philosopher Heraclistus, before Socrates' time, said. "It should be understood that war is the common condition, that strife is justice, and that all things come to pass through the compulsion of strife." This is indeed wisdom. Taking it to heart is not amiss at any time in history, none moreso than our own. My only addition to that is the add-on belief that one MUST love one's naighbor AND one's enemy.

In strife yes... in brotherly strife. That's one of the tasks, the struggle and war becomes not only with others but with oneself and those fears and anxieties that drive us to think that our enemy is outside of us istead of inside. The elemental struggle in the world becomes a spiritual struggle with all those beleifs and lies we tell ourselves. And instead od dealing with them, we take it out on others, who are innocent.