Honor The Sacred Quality
Of
Sacrifice This Christmas
(Original Article Written By The Editorial Board Of The Washington Post)
SEVENTY-FIVE years ago, Americans celebrated their first peacetime Christmas after four years of war. During that time, the country experienced a great surge of unity. Deep divisions over whether we should go to war were suddenly forgotten. Ethnic and religious prejudices against newcomer immigrant groups were tempered, and their battlefield heroism praised. Though the greatest sacrifice was made by those who fought and died, the war involved just about everyone to some degree, especially those who went on with their lives and duties while dreading the telegram that many feared, day after day for months on end, might come.
Radio, the most powerful uniter of the time, beamed inspirational stories, comedy, music and a series of addresses from the president to reassure the people and help maintain a sense of common purpose and sacrifice. At Christmas especially, much of the programming was suffused with sentimentality and something else not so often seen in popular entertainment: religion.
It was explicitly religious and Christian in some ways, but in others more in the spirit of President Franklin D. Roosevelt. FDR frequently used biblical allusions, writes author Christine Wicker. But, “While he believed faith in God was essential . . . he didn’t often talk to the country about faith in God. The faith he referenced publicly was faith in oneself, faith in democracy and sometimes even faith in him.”
His was a message of inclusion and encouragement in a dark time.
Christianity, despite many perversions and distortions (the earliest and most persistent being anti-Semitism, a product of 2,000-year-old religious disputation), has far outlived the mighty Roman empire of Caesar Augustus, under whose rule Jesus of Nazareth was born. It has spread over much of the world and still remains an irritant to tyrannical empires (most recently China) and a source of aid and comfort for many victims of oppression.
To whose who do not believe in the divinity of Jesus, elements of his teaching (which are to be found in other faiths as well, including Islam) still stand as enduring ideals: service, compassion and kindness to others, the essential unity of mankind, hospitality to strangers, humility, generosity and, of course, the command that we love one another.
Today, rows of well-tended American graves in faraway places testify to what we regard as the sacred quality of sacrifice: Christians, Muslims, Jews and others lie at rest together. It would be fitting if we could find a powerful and long-lasting way to honor and remember as well those who have given their lives or health in fighting the disease that this Christmas Day torments our country and the world, the greatest crisis in three-quarters of a century — and to do so in a way that also recognizes the sacredness of what these people have done and expresses our undying gratitude for it.
Reply Written By: Bradley Chapline
Las Vegas, Nevada
Dec 2020
Of
Sacrifice This Christmas
(Original Article Written By The Editorial Board Of The Washington Post)
SEVENTY-FIVE years ago, Americans celebrated their first peacetime Christmas after four years of war. During that time, the country experienced a great surge of unity. Deep divisions over whether we should go to war were suddenly forgotten. Ethnic and religious prejudices against newcomer immigrant groups were tempered, and their battlefield heroism praised. Though the greatest sacrifice was made by those who fought and died, the war involved just about everyone to some degree, especially those who went on with their lives and duties while dreading the telegram that many feared, day after day for months on end, might come.
Radio, the most powerful uniter of the time, beamed inspirational stories, comedy, music and a series of addresses from the president to reassure the people and help maintain a sense of common purpose and sacrifice. At Christmas especially, much of the programming was suffused with sentimentality and something else not so often seen in popular entertainment: religion.
It was explicitly religious and Christian in some ways, but in others more in the spirit of President Franklin D. Roosevelt. FDR frequently used biblical allusions, writes author Christine Wicker. But, “While he believed faith in God was essential . . . he didn’t often talk to the country about faith in God. The faith he referenced publicly was faith in oneself, faith in democracy and sometimes even faith in him.”
His was a message of inclusion and encouragement in a dark time.
Christianity, despite many perversions and distortions (the earliest and most persistent being anti-Semitism, a product of 2,000-year-old religious disputation), has far outlived the mighty Roman empire of Caesar Augustus, under whose rule Jesus of Nazareth was born. It has spread over much of the world and still remains an irritant to tyrannical empires (most recently China) and a source of aid and comfort for many victims of oppression.
To whose who do not believe in the divinity of Jesus, elements of his teaching (which are to be found in other faiths as well, including Islam) still stand as enduring ideals: service, compassion and kindness to others, the essential unity of mankind, hospitality to strangers, humility, generosity and, of course, the command that we love one another.
Today, rows of well-tended American graves in faraway places testify to what we regard as the sacred quality of sacrifice: Christians, Muslims, Jews and others lie at rest together. It would be fitting if we could find a powerful and long-lasting way to honor and remember as well those who have given their lives or health in fighting the disease that this Christmas Day torments our country and the world, the greatest crisis in three-quarters of a century — and to do so in a way that also recognizes the sacredness of what these people have done and expresses our undying gratitude for it.
Reply Written By: Bradley Chapline
Las Vegas, Nevada
Dec 2020
For decades, as both a U.S. Marine and a Peace Officer, I've engaged in self-sacrifice time and time again.
Off the coast of Vietnam, a Vietnamese refugee boat packed with mostly women and children, that posed no threat to our warship, was maliciously and intentionally sunk by the Captain of the Ship. While many of my fellow Marines cheered, I sent an urgent request to my Senator for a congressional investigation. In the end, a presidential executive order obligated American forces to pickup and appropriately care for Vietnamese refugees.
However, I was seen as a traitor by both my military peers and family. And yet, to make matters worse, upon my return to the states, demonstrators against the war spit and yelled obscenities at me. Even though I had saved many lives and had never taken a human life.
As a Peace Officer, I battled internal corruption, racism, and the militarization of its so-called public servants. I also faced many dangerous situations with felons in my career, but never once discharged my weapon. But, for me personally, I had no choices. The uniform I wore was seen by the public as a symbol of disgrace.
Now, in my retirement years, my days of sacrifice are definitely over. I'm not about to suffer any longer, for anyone.
In politics, I have watched as many of our elected leaders have betrayed the American people.
Former President Ronald Reagan stripped America's mental health system to the bone which landed ten of thousands of helpless Americans onto the streets.
We now have President Donald Trump who has stood idly by and watched over 300,000 Americans die of the corona-virus. Plus, millions of Americans are being forced out from their homes, and, once again, onto the streets, unemployed, hungry, and in need of medical attention, with no help.
I want to make very clear to the Washington Post editorial board that the sacred quality of sacrifice begins at the top of America's power structure. If not, our country is doomed to fail.