Memorial

We all know perfectly well that of the soldiers who died, some died because of stupid accidents, some were cowards, some were nasty people in civilian life and so on. But since judgment is God's, maybe we should forget about all that stuff for a while, and remember that they were there, and there for us, and assume the best for a change?

I wrote that for all their other faults, Mandela and de Klerk were the right men at the right time. For the sake of our own souls, if for no nobler reason, we need to remember the good they tried to do. We more Laodicean sorts need reminders of what courage can do.

I've never heard the speakers at the ceremonies for the dead this day offer caveats. They lump all the soldiers into the category "brave and honorable." This makes some of us itchy, but suppress the urge to complain. Many were brave: to say all is not a polite lie but a prayer that they all will be found so, and that in whatever crises we face, we with our mixed motives, will also be found brave.