I have a question.
Can you question an action or a motivation without having your loyalty questioned?
I suppose I should be a bit more specific, although I think this is an appropriate question for any organization or situation. I have been known to question what my family was thinking when they decided to do something, to question the direction my company was taking, to question why one of the nonprofits I support start – or stop – a particular program.
There might have been some questions about my loyalty to the cause, but I’ve never been drummed out of the family, company or charity.
That attitude has come into question recently in our country. Obviously, I’m asking the question now because of the bombing in Iran and the rest of the Middle East.
I know that this isn’t the first time loyalty to the country or the depth of our patriotism has been questioned to the exclusion of any rational debate. “Our country, right or wrong,” “America, love it or leave it” and similar bumper sticker slogans have been around long before bumpers were available to attach them to.
The blind loyalty approach reached fever pitch a quarter century ago, ironically after an attack originating out of the same Middle East. If you weren’t waving an American flag from your front porch after the 9-11 terror attacks, you were in danger of being ostracized from the neighborhood.
Even so, there seemed to be some room for debate. Legislators who questioned the response to the crisis weren’t immediately branded as enemies of the state. Oh, there were a few echoes of the McCarthy era, but they were relatively muted.
Sadly, that’s not the case today, at least according to those in power.
For the last 15 months, the one criteria for “proper patriotism” has been fealty to a single individual. This individual has said that only one thing limits what he can do. And I quote, “Yeah, there is one thing. My own morality. My own mind. It’s the only thing that can stop me. I don’t need international law.”
So it comes as no real surprise that explanations for attacking Iran have been vague and variable. It comes down to that old saw my parents sometimes used when explaining why I couldn’t do something as a child – “Because I said so, that’s why.”
If you want to keep the peace, you nod and do what you are told.
But that seems a slippery slope to me – leaving the decision as to what’s right or wrong to someone else not only abdicates your responsibility but allows that someone else to act without justification. And those actions have ramifications.
I have to admit, I’m simply a questioner at heart. I’ve wanted to know the why of things ever since I could remember. I think that desire is why I managed to be a pretty decent journalist for more than four decades. I become suspicious when a why question is answered with “don’t worry your pretty little head about it.” And I’m suspicious a lot these days.
This approach has made my faith journey interesting, as well. The very definition of faith would seem to preclude questioning.
I’ve been blessed by a church and community that is not just tolerant of questioning, but encourages it. That helps to resolve at least some of my doubts living in this flawed world of ours.
Of course I question why God allows the pain and suffering of simple people caught in these man-made wars. I have to ask why children are afflicted with disease, why parents must find ways to deal with their offspring in pain and/or dying and vice versa.
No, I haven’t found any answers to those questions. Through a lot of study and more than a little prayer, I’ve come to the conclusion that I wouldn’t understand God’s grand plan even if He deigned to try to explain it to me. It truly is a God thing, and I guess that’s why it is called faith.
But God also understands that I, that we, have doubts. We have questions, and minds (which He formed) like mine persist in asking.
Doubting, questioning, doesn’t mean I don’t believe. On the contrary, the study required to seek answers has strengthened my belief.
God doesn’t brand me a traitor for asking why. So why, I ask, do you?