I had my Wednesday night bible class tonight, and of course there was some discussion about the war for Iraq. The pastor of my church, as is right I think, is definitely anti-war. One man in class who is a war veteran is for the war, as is this lawyer whom I totally respect and admire. The lawyer guys argued very persuasively that the war on Iraq is "just war", and like a lawyer he had several bible verses to back his argument up.

The pastor of my church admitted that Iraq may very well have weapons of mass destruction and that Hussein is a bad man, but he is against all forms of war because he said "violence begets violence". He agreed that Hussein needs to be disarmed, but that the US was going about in the wrong way.

After class I just had to ask him if he was against all wars, and would he be protesting against the war to free the slaves and end slavery. The pastor said he would be. He then told me that what we all needed to think about was, would we be willing to die for our ideas like Jesus. His question made me wonder if I would be willing to die for my country. I think I would, but I think my background has much to do with decision.

First, I have family members who have died as war veterans, and military service to country is a strong tradition in my family. Secondly, I was born and grew up in Hawaii, a state whose identity is so tied into the bombing of Pearl Harbour, that I was taught from Day 1 that patriotism is everything. Veteran's Day is a big deal in Hawaii, and all the islands have a visible military presence. In high school, we studied World War 2 zealously, and we had presentations in school by people who had experienced World War 2. The internment of Japanese people in camps was a big subject, and former camp members came to class to talk about their experience.

The pastor said something interesting at the end. He told me that he hoped he'd be willing to die for what he believed, but that you never know what you're going to do until you're faced with the decision. I think he's right.