After viewing the film Waltz with Bashir, I have many reasons for why I liked and why I didn’t like the movie. However, the film was overall great, and the content was a real eye opener to the viewer. People always hear about war, and people understand that everyday there are soldiers overseas risking their life for their country. The same is true for the 1980’s war in Lebanon, people knew it was going on but the majority of us live in a safe society far away from the fighting that it seems so surreal until one actually sees the fighting (I’m using this off topic example to compare this to- I’m from the gulf coast of Florida and I visit my mother every year. Everyone knew and heard about the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico but it was so surreal to me until I actually went to the beach and saw the oil wash up on shore. It doesn’t seem real until you actually see it with your own eyes). War and death are both very real and I think people get caught up in their own life without seeing the big and sometimes horrible picture that is going on around them.
I would also like to comment on the Christian Phalangists who started what I would like to call genocide on the Palestinian people of west Beirut. It is pure stupidity for this military group to blame innocent Palestinian people for the death of their leader. The countless number of women and children killed during this genocide is disturbing and embarrassing. Being a strong Christian myself, I have to say that this group of so call “Christian” Phalangists aren’t really Christian (or at least are missing the fundamental beliefs of the Christian faith). Last time I checked my Bible, Christians are told to love one another and to do on to others as you would have them do on to you. Jesus NEVER discriminated, but he did love and treat everyone equally, as he calls Christians to do. I hate to say it but it’s groups like this one that give Christians a bad name.
In the context of the civil war Christian/Sunni/Shia/Druze was short hand for something political/tribal beyond religion. Even though on the surface the war might seem to be about religion it's really about politics and (I would argue) expanded 'family honor'.
ReplyDeleteAs TeaGN points out here and more thoroughly on her blog, "Christian" here is not necessarily or entirely a religious designation, but also a political one. This is the case in many nations' political parties; in Germany, for example, there are "Christian Democrats" but that is much more a political party than a religious one--- names often have long and complex histories.
ReplyDeleteThat said, it is worth noting that most religious traditions, and ethnic groups, have had some sub-groups that fomented extreme violence at one point or another, and that these extreme forms of violence on the part of a few are generally not representative of each group as a whole [even Buddhists, often stereotyped as pacifists, had some medieval kings who led pretty big armies]