The Streets of Heaven

Since it was first made an occasion in 1776, the 4th of July has long served as an opportunity for remembrance and a time to honor those who have fallen since our first Independence Day. Remembrance is good. The brave souls who have given their lives in defense of our city upon a hill deserve to be honored until our republic is swept from the mountainside.

Unfortunately, this remembrance can often take the form of blind, unthinking patriotism that only serves as a tool to further divide the world into "us" and "them." Glimpses of this attitude can be seen in Bill Pullman's immortal speech in the movie Independence Day, when a ruggedly handsome but wounded president implored the world to unite against an alien menace.

As psychologically satisfying as this type of language and this type of patriotism is, it is important to remember that, in the real world, our enemies are not an unstoppable alien scourge, but rather an assortment of fathers and sons, mothers and daughters, lovers and friends. When we go to war, we don't fight against some hyperbolic evil; we fight against people just like us.

As unlikely as it seems, a 1970s sitcom may have done a lot better than the 1996 blockbuster. In an episode of M*A*S*H, Father Mulcahy spends the entire half hour trying to write a war song that captures his experience with bloodshed and violence. His simple and poignant elegy to the dead is a haunting reminder of the cost of war. You can listen to the audio file here, or just read the lyrics below.

There's no one singing war songs now like people used to do

No "Over There," no "Praise the Lord," no "Glory Hallelu"

Perhaps at last we've asked ourselves what we should have asked before

With the pain and death this madness brings, what were we ever singing for?

In my opinion, Martin Sheen makes a much better fictional president than Bill Pullman. His character, Josiah Bartlet, provides a better example of how we can honor our heroes, while still appreciating the complexities of our world and respecting the dignity of all human life.

This is certainly the time for heroes, American or otherwise. And we reach for the stars.