Two Murders and One Undeniable Truth.

Last Sunday a doctor was murdered in the church he attended. On Monday a soldier was murdered and another was wounded in front of the recruiting office they worked at. The men that are alleged to have committed theses crimes are more the same than they are different. Both men saw their victims as guilty of monstrous crimes. They both imagined themselves as agents of justice, defenders of what is good in this world. The truth is they are both despicable terrorists.

Of course none of this should be seen as new or alien to our society. History shows us that criminal violence has been used in just and unjust causes; Harpers Ferry, 16th Street Church, University of Wisconsin, and Oklahoma City. I could fill pages with the names of all those that have murdered, burned, bombed, robbed, kidnapped, and even raped in the name of protecting the innocent and punishing the guilty. People commit these crimes and then seem surprised when they are called criminals. They are even more shocked that their actions demean their causes.

Religion may seem to have played a roll in both of these crimes but those that claim religion as the impetus for them, are wrong. That these criminals claim that they were serving their god is of no value, it is an excuse that they are trying to hide behind. It is part of their deluded thinking. We cannot accept that argument without also accepting that they therefore are in the right and we should not interfere with there holy mission. Carried to its ultimate conclusion, that argument would mean believing that might makes right and trial by combat is an effective way to learn the will of god. I don’t believe in such a god. I don’t believe that violent criminality is a way of spreading God’s love amongst His children.

Some things are always wrong. Some means are so heinous that no civilized person can condone their use. There is no justification for murder in politics. Those, whom try to say that these were special cases with special rules that should apply, are enemies of all that is just. They are enemies of the rule of law. They are enemies of all that America stands for.