My War

Memorial Day is approaching and I am starting to feel guilty. Well, my emotions are more complex than just mere guilt. I feel the sadness and loss of a missed opportunity to serve my country in the military. During the first Gulf War, many of my high school friends were part of Desert Storm. As an editorial assistant for a Chicago area newspaper at the time, I collected and published stories and photographs from families of those serving “over there”. One of them was killed. I sat behind a desk.

I am now over 40 and I am too old to join this fight, but I still feel a pull to go because despite the cliché, there is no shame in the sacrifice of serving our country. I should be there in Afghanistan or Iraq.

There is a desperate desire for shared sacrifice at the very soul of our country. Yet as individuals we have not been given a concrete opportunity to do so by our government and thus we are disengaged from a struggle that has historic implications for the future of our country and for the world.

To quell my guilt and disengagement, I sometimes refer to the work of poverty alleviation as “My War.” I have seen children die of malaria, mothers who die at childbirth and the awful stench of life in a slum. Poverty ravages and kills innocent children each day and creates such despair that those who survive choose terrorism and suicide bombings as their one path to riches.

What’s more patriotic, and in the best interests of the United States, than stabilizing societies and countries through economic development? A secure household with parents who have jobs even in a slum like Kibera in Kenya or in Lahore, Pakistan can translate into security here at home.

My heroes are not only those who serve in the armed forces, but those in the relief and development agencies and churches at the frontlines who help rebuild and love their neighbor in the pits of hell. My friend Brian is finishing a tour with USAID in Iraq while his wife and three children wait for his return. And, I think of Anna, who about a month ago died in Afghanistan while working with a non-governmental organization. Although her death was an accident and not related to the conflict, she still leaves six siblings and two parents grieving the loss of a young, vibrant life. This too is her Memorial Day.

There are many opportunities at home and abroad to transform lives and assist those who live on the very margins of society. We must act now not just militarily, not just diplomatically but at the very grassroots achieving what is unthinkable but is more urgent than ever – creating employment, stabilizing communities and ending radical poverty before the next car bomb goes off somewhere _ maybe even here in the United States.

As Christians, it is imperative that we engage in this world, not just by voting on the best American Idol, but through service and sacrifice. There is a war out there on poverty and misery that we can all agree needs to be fought. Let’s not miss this opportunity. We may regret it later in life.

By Craig Cole is the executive director of Five Talents International, an Anglican microfinance nonprofit, a member of Diocese of Virginia's Mission Commission and an EGR board member.