God On Our Side

A burst of interest from Russia this past week.  Hard to tell which post has generated the increase but I have seen an overall jump in hits on my 2011 post called Assisted Suicide which I wrote to mark the passing of Jack Kevorkian.


I recently began borrowing CDs from our local library.  Among last week's bunch was Bob Dylan's 1964 effort called The Times They Are A-Changing.  Of course, the song of that same name is very interesting, a symbol of the intensity of the 1960's in terms of social change.  But the song that struck me the most is titled With God On Our Side.  I had never heard it before, but strongly believe it is worth, not only discussing in light of today's issues, but also worth replicating the lyrics.  See below.


Oh my name it is nothin’
My age it means less
The country I come from
Is called the Midwest
I’s taught and brought up there
The laws to abide
And that the land that I live in
Has God on its side


Oh the history books tell it
They tell it so well
The cavalries charged
The Indians fell
The cavalries charged
The Indians died
Oh the country was young
With God on its side


Oh the Spanish-American
War had its day
And the Civil War too
Was soon laid away
And the names of the heroes
l’s made to memorize
With guns in their hands
And God on their side


Oh the First World War, boys
It closed out its fate
The reason for fighting
I never got straight
But I learned to accept it
Accept it with pride
For you don’t count the dead
When God’s on your side


When the Second World War
Came to an end
We forgave the Germans
And we were friends
Though they murdered six million
In the ovens they fried
The Germans now too
Have God on their side


I’ve learned to hate Russians
All through my whole life
If another war starts
It’s them we must fight
To hate them and fear them
To run and to hide
And accept it all bravely
With God on my side


But now we got weapons
Of the chemical dust
If fire them we’re forced to
Then fire them we must
One push of the button
And a shot the world wide
And you never ask questions
When God’s on your side


Through many dark hour
I’ve been thinkin’ about this
That Jesus Christ
Was betrayed by a kiss
But I can’t think for you
You’ll have to decide
Whether Judas Iscariot
Had God on his side


So now as I’m leavin’
I’m weary as Hell
The confusion I’m feelin’
Ain’t no tongue can tell
The words fill my head
And fall to the floor
If God’s on our side
He’ll stop the next war

Copyright © 1963 by Warner Bros. Inc.; renewed 1991 by Special Rider Music

Of course, Dylan wrote this in 1963 soon after the Cuban Missile crisis, and at the height of the Cold War when bomb shelters dotted the suburban landscape, and the nuclear weapons drills held in our elementary schools included hiding under the desk.  Many in America lived in real fear of the end of the world, knowing that Mutual Assured Destruction (MAD) was government policy for two nations.  Yet, despite the angst of that time, millions of Americans held fast, knowing that the Communist philosophy was god-less, while America clearly had God on our side.

Now we are engaged in a war of ideology which seems to respect no national boundaries.  Our primary enemy seems inspired by a fanatical version of Islam which includes killing those who do not share the belief knowing that the next life will bring eternal joy since God is on their side.

And we, of course, are just as sure that our drone dropped bombs, aerial assaults, vast sums of weapon provisions and restrictive immigration policies will result in the defeat of this enemy, since it is clear that in this conflict the true God is on our side. 

Last week I saw an article referring to the cowardly response by Obama to the ISIS threat.  And recently I watched a few minutes of a Fox opinion show where the host claimed that either Obama was incompetent, or that he hated America and wanted us to fail.  Comically, a third view point was offered in which the President was called an ideologue trapped in the belief that America was at fault for the troubles in Syria and Iraq which is why he was so reticent to double down on more violence and sending troops.  (The fact that we removed Iraq's government, horrible as it was, leaving a vacuum in which fanaticism was quick to fill, seemed lost on this commentator).  

Perhaps the president feels as Dylan indicates in the last stanza of his song. 

The words fill my head
And fall to the floor
If God’s on our side
He’ll stop the next war   

Unfortunately, I don't see that job as part of God's active area of influence.  I believe that She has given us the tools and knowledge to end war, but has a hands off policy when it comes to further involvement.  In the end, it is up to us to end the continuation of war amongst us.  More violence will only beget violence. 

Both sides need to understand that when it comes to killing other people, God is on neither side.