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Campus "Unrest" demonstrations and consequences, 1970-1971

1971-11-12 American Report: Review of Religion and American Power Page 4

AMERICAN REPORT 
LETTERS:
To the Editors:

A military court declared Captain Calley guilty of manslaughter and for a few days the nation was in a state of dismay. 
The question that agonized many people was: who else is guilty? The tragedy revealed at the trial of Calley should engender lasting turmoil in the conscience and self esteem of every sensitive American. 
The wound is open, the hurt is deep. 
It is not my task to discuss how to use the case of Calley for the purpose of bringing and end to the war in Viet Nam. There is a specific moral issue that must be directly faced, it is an ultimate issue involving sin, responsibility, repentance. To ignore an open wound is to court moral contamination, further infection, and the diffusive influence of a vicious example. 
To whitewash our terrible deeds by maintaining we are innocent is to defy God who heard the cry of so many guiltless civilians killed in Indochina. Jeremiah expressed it (2:14:15): "On your shirt is found the lifeblood of guiltless poor. Yet in spite of all these things you say: I am innocent. Behold I will bring you to judgment for saying: I have not sinned."
To offer easy forgiveness would be not only self-complacency in disguise, hence blasphemous, but radical self abasement. Easy forgiveness implies that an individual who has short and killed men, women, and children id devoid of responsibility. Yet the individual's moral responsibility is the heart of the dignity of man. At a time of increasing dehumanization and mechanization of human existence such an attitude would be a moral blow to the humanity of man. 
Of the many problems involved, religious leaders face a special problem. How were such crimes possible? 
Ten or 20 years ago no one

UN 
INTERIANDI 1971 LOS ANGELES TIMES
"So, Taiwan is out. Peking if in -- they all look alike to me anyway!"


 would have believed that American boys could have acted in such a way. But they did . Who else is guilty? Who else it to blame?
Did we not as teachers, writers, and citizens fail to instill in our people an absolute, unconditional sense of horror for murder?
Relativity of values, permissiveness is today a powerful trend in living and thinking. This trend tends to become universal embracing all thoughts and all actions. It may also embrace homicide or even genocide. There is one issue in regard to which no permissiveness or relativity must be tolerated and that is murder! 
The sense of sanctity of human life is subsiding. let us at least preserve the sense of horror of murder!

The image of America ,once the great promise and the marvellous hope of humanity, has been tragically tarnished. America was built on religious foundations. She declares herself to be "a nation under God"" Obviously, we teachers of religion have failed to impress upon the people of America that God is the Father of all men, of all races, that murder is a supreme abomination. 
By now the trail of Capt. Calley has sunk into oblivion. A game of ping pong has quickly made us forget the outrage over My Lai. How few remember it! How few feel the agony of the victims on their conscience!
I cannot reconcile myself to t he fact that a large segment of the American people rushed to support, uphold, and even champion the cause of a man convicted of multiple premeditated murder of men, women and children, a killer who described his action: "It was not a big deal..." To proceed on the principle that Calley is all of us. He is every single citizen in our graceless land." (Dean Francis B. Sayre) is to slash any understanding of what crim e means and to tear out the heart of human dignity. For the heart of human dignity is repeat, the ability to be responsible. 
At this hour a major lesson impulsed in the teaching of the ancient prophets of Israel assumed renewed validity: few are guilty, but all are responsible. 
It is important that we distinguish between guilt and responsibility. It is dangerous to confound two distinct terms. Guilt that originally denoted a crime or sin implies a connection with or involvement in a misdeed of a grave or serious character, the fact of having committed a breach on conduct, especially such as violates law and involves penalty. Responsibility is the capability of being called upon to answer or to make amends, to someone for something without necessarily being directly connected with or involved in a criminal act.
The war in Indochina was and continues to be a heinous affair. But in addition to my sense of outrage at jato we have done, I am haunted by a nightmare of what its after effects may be. The war in Indochina as the great example of how wars should be waged, Calley a national heror or revered martyr, deceptiveness as a style of national policy. 
We stand at the crossroads of our history. The atrocities we have committed are part of our record, of our consciousness. Either we accept and vindicate it and establish techniques of atrocities as a legitimate mode of national policy or rent earnestly, confessing our sins, making amends, and adopting measures that would prevent similar crimes from happening in the future. 
Repentance can only come about in a state of utter hopelessness. For how dare we hope for God's forgiveness? Confronted with the results of our crimes - multitudes of people killed, crippled, demoralized, orphaned, widowed can we expect the God of justice to forgive us?
We must first pass through a theology of hopelessness before we can dare to pray for pardon 
The issue we should all ponder is moral, not legal; responsibility rather than guilt; prevention rather than punishment. 
What steps must be taken by religious leaders to prevent that possibility of our people committing war crimes in the future? 
If we remain silent in the face of this challenge, greater atrocities will come to pass in the days to come. 
Such vast power untrammeled may easily explode and destroy us all. To mobilize spiritual forces of compassion, love and faith that together with God's grace and help are strong enough to counterpoise physical power, is I believe the most urgent imperative at this tragic hour of world history. 
There is another burden on our conscience. Some of us, teachers at theological seminaries, have prepared ad even encouraged our students to enter the chaplaincy of the Armed Forces. It comes as a shock to us that none of the chaplains has cried out during these any years of waging war in Indochina about the atrocities committed there. The war crimes were disclosed by reporters and privates rather than by ministers, priests, and rabbis. What  jolt  to out expectation of the role of religious people in modern society.
If the chaplaincy should be saved and cleansed from its terrible sin of silence, it ought to become a voice calling for the establishment of such an authority, a legal and moral authority as proposed above. 
After the conquest of Palestine, the Babylonian King, Nebuchadnezzar appointed Gedaliah, a distinguished Jewish citizen to be governor of Judea. As a result of a conspiracy Gedaliah was assassinated. 
More than 2,000 years have passed and jews continue on the day following the New Year;s festival to observe a fast day in commemoration of the sad event, in which only one single man was murdered. 
May I propose that at least a minute of silence be observed every year in mourning and repentance of crimes in Indochina. 

Abraham J. Heschel 
The Jewish Theological Seminary of America

American REPORT REVIEW OF RELIGION AND AMERICAN POWER

VOL II NOV. 7, NOVEMBER 12, 1971 
Published weekly at Astoria Press, Inc, 435 Hudson St. N.Y. and N,Y 100014 by Clergy and Laymen Concerned a non profit national emergency committee. Exceptions: the first two weeks in January and the second, third, and fourth weeks n August 1971 by American Report. The opinions expressed in American Report are those of the contributors or editors and do not necessarily express the views of Clergy and Laymen Concerned or others association with the publication. 

Staff: Robert Lecky, Editor
Richard Van Voorhia, Managing Editor
Ron Henderson
John Kernodie
Mary McAnally 
Debrah Wiley 

Editorial Committee: Balfour Brickner
James Finn, Michael Novak 
Richard Neuhaus, John Sheerin 

Editorial and Subscription Correspondence 623 W. 125th New York, N.Y. 10027

Subscription rates: Single copy. 35 c one year, $7.00: two years, $12:00: three years, $17.00 (foreign postage per year, per subscription: Canada and PUAS countries $2.00 additional; elsewhere $3.00 additional) Bulk rates, for information, write to the above office. Student Rate: $5;00 per year mailed to university address

POSTMASTER: Please send form 3579 to AMERICAN REPORT , 637 W. 125th St., New York N.Y. 10027

AMERICAN REPORT subscribes to Dispatch News Service International (DNSI), Ecumenical Press Service (EPS) Latinamerica Press (LP) National Catholic News Service (NCNC) Pacific News Service (PNS) and Religious News Service (RNS) 
490

Urban World FOR SOCIAL STUDIES AND READING 
Story of Flip;s life From Rags to Riches
Is HItchiking a Lark Or a Dangerous Kick?
VOL , ISSUE 2 FEBRUARY 9, 97 

the U.S. ARMY is watching YOU 

Usually we "put down" interpretations of the war, army spying, etc. that are given to children by official sources. This issue of Urban World, which goes to about 165,000 seventh grade children and faculty across the country, contains perceptive analysis of military spying. The editors said that they received an unusually large number of letters, the majority of which said they "did not want a general under their desks; spying should be stopped..." One of the grouped named in the article as under military surveillance was Clergy and Laymen United Against the War in Vietnam (sic) The magazine is published by a subsidiary of the Xerox Corporation.

Saving...

AMERICAN REPORT LETTERS: To the Editors: A military court declared Captain Calley guilty of manslaughter and for a few days the nation was in a state of dismay. The question that agonized many people was: who else is guilty? The tragedy revealed at the trial of Calley should engender lasting turmoil in the conscience and self esteem of every sensitive American. The wound is open, the hurt is deep. It is not my task to discuss how to use the case of Calley for the purpose of bringing and end to the war in Viet Nam. There is a specific moral issue that must be directly faced, it is an ultimate issue involving sin, responsibility, repentance. To ignore an open wound is to court moral contamination, further infection, and the diffusive influence of a vicious example. To whitewash our terrible deeds by maintaining we are innocent is to defy God who heard the cry of so many guiltless civilians killed in Indochina. Jeremiah expressed it (2:14:15): "On your shirt is found the lifeblood of guiltless poor. Yet in spite of all these things you say: I am innocent. Behold I will bring you to judgment for saying: I have not sinned." To offer easy forgiveness would be not only self-complacency in disguise, hence blasphemous, but radical self abasement. Easy forgiveness implies that an individual who has short and killed men, women, and children id devoid of responsibility. Yet the individual's moral responsibility is the heart of the dignity of man. At a time of increasing dehumanization and mechanization of human existence such an attitude would be a moral blow to the humanity of man. Of the many problems involved, religious leaders face a special problem. How were such crimes possible? Ten or 20 years ago no one UN INTERIANDI 1971 LOS ANGELES TIMES "So, Taiwan is out. Peking if in -- they all look alike to me anyway!" would have believed that American boys could have acted in such a way. But they did . Who else is guilty? Who else it to blame? Did we not as teachers, writers, and citizens fail to instill in our people an absolute, unconditional sense of horror for murder? Relativity of values, permissiveness is today a powerful trend in living and thinking. This trend tends to become universal embracing all thoughts and all actions. It may also embrace homicide or even genocide. There is one issue in regard to which no permissiveness or relativity must be tolerated and that is murder! The sense of sanctity of human life is subsiding. let us at least preserve the sense of horror of murder! The image of America ,once the great promise and the marvellous hope of humanity, has been tragically tarnished. America was built on religious foundations. She declares herself to be "a nation under God"" Obviously, we teachers of religion have failed to impress upon the people of America that God is the Father of all men, of all races, that murder is a supreme abomination. By now the trail of Capt. Calley has sunk into oblivion. A game of ping pong has quickly made us forget the outrage over My Lai. How few remember it! How few feel the agony of the victims on their conscience! I cannot reconcile myself to t he fact that a large segment of the American people rushed to support, uphold, and even champion the cause of a man convicted of multiple premeditated murder of men, women and children, a killer who described his action: "It was not a big deal..." To proceed on the principle that Calley is all of us. He is every single citizen in our graceless land." (Dean Francis B. Sayre) is to slash any understanding of what crim e means and to tear out the heart of human dignity. For the heart of human dignity is repeat, the ability to be responsible. At this hour a major lesson impulsed in the teaching of the ancient prophets of Israel assumed renewed validity: few are guilty, but all are responsible. It is important that we distinguish between guilt and responsibility. It is dangerous to confound two distinct terms. Guilt that originally denoted a crime or sin implies a connection with or involvement in a misdeed of a grave or serious character, the fact of having committed a breach on conduct, especially such as violates law and involves penalty. Responsibility is the capability of being called upon to answer or to make amends, to someone for something without necessarily being directly connected with or involved in a criminal act. The war in Indochina was and continues to be a heinous affair. But in addition to my sense of outrage at jato we have done, I am haunted by a nightmare of what its after effects may be. The war in Indochina as the great example of how wars should be waged, Calley a national heror or revered martyr, deceptiveness as a style of national policy. We stand at the crossroads of our history. The atrocities we have committed are part of our record, of our consciousness. Either we accept and vindicate it and establish techniques of atrocities as a legitimate mode of national policy or rent earnestly, confessing our sins, making amends, and adopting measures that would prevent similar crimes from happening in the future. Repentance can only come about in a state of utter hopelessness. For how dare we hope for God's forgiveness? Confronted with the results of our crimes - multitudes of people killed, crippled, demoralized, orphaned, widowed can we expect the God of justice to forgive us? We must first pass through a theology of hopelessness before we can dare to pray for pardon The issue we should all ponder is moral, not legal; responsibility rather than guilt; prevention rather than punishment. What steps must be taken by religious leaders to prevent that possibility of our people committing war crimes in the future? If we remain silent in the face of this challenge, greater atrocities will come to pass in the days to come. Such vast power untrammeled may easily explode and destroy us all. To mobilize spiritual forces of compassion, love and faith that together with God's grace and help are strong enough to counterpoise physical power, is I believe the most urgent imperative at this tragic hour of world history. There is another burden on our conscience. Some of us, teachers at theological seminaries, have prepared ad even encouraged our students to enter the chaplaincy of the Armed Forces. It comes as a shock to us that none of the chaplains has cried out during these any years of waging war in Indochina about the atrocities committed there. The war crimes were disclosed by reporters and privates rather than by ministers, priests, and rabbis. What jolt to out expectation of the role of religious people in modern society. If the chaplaincy should be saved and cleansed from its terrible sin of silence, it ought to become a voice calling for the establishment of such an authority, a legal and moral authority as proposed above. After the conquest of Palestine, the Babylonian King, Nebuchadnezzar appointed Gedaliah, a distinguished Jewish citizen to be governor of Judea. As a result of a conspiracy Gedaliah was assassinated. More than 2,000 years have passed and jews continue on the day following the New Year;s festival to observe a fast day in commemoration of the sad event, in which only one single man was murdered. May I propose that at least a minute of silence be observed every year in mourning and repentance of crimes in Indochina. Abraham J. Heschel The Jewish Theological Seminary of America American REPORT REVIEW OF RELIGION AND AMERICAN POWER VOL II NOV. 7, NOVEMBER 12, 1971 Published weekly at Astoria Press, Inc, 435 Hudson St. N.Y. and N,Y 100014 by Clergy and Laymen Concerned a non profit national emergency committee. Exceptions: the first two weeks in January and the second, third, and fourth weeks n August 1971 by American Report. The opinions expressed in American Report are those of the contributors or editors and do not necessarily express the views of Clergy and Laymen Concerned or others association with the publication. Staff: Robert Lecky, Editor Richard Van Voorhia, Managing Editor Ron Henderson John Kernodie Mary McAnally Debrah Wiley Editorial Committee: Balfour Brickner James Finn, Michael Novak Richard Neuhaus, John Sheerin Editorial and Subscription Correspondence 623 W. 125th New York, N.Y. 10027 Subscription rates: Single copy. 35 c one year, $7.00: two years, $12:00: three years, $17.00 (foreign postage per year, per subscription: Canada and PUAS countries $2.00 additional; elsewhere $3.00 additional) Bulk rates, for information, write to the above office. Student Rate: $5;00 per year mailed to university address POSTMASTER: Please send form 3579 to AMERICAN REPORT , 637 W. 125th St., New York N.Y. 10027 AMERICAN REPORT subscribes to Dispatch News Service International (DNSI), Ecumenical Press Service (EPS) Latinamerica Press (LP) National Catholic News Service (NCNC) Pacific News Service (PNS) and Religious News Service (RNS) 490 Urban World FOR SOCIAL STUDIES AND READING Story of Flip;s life From Rags to Riches Is HItchiking a Lark Or a Dangerous Kick? VOL , ISSUE 2 FEBRUARY 9, 97 the U.S. ARMY is watching YOU Usually we "put down" interpretations of the war, army spying, etc. that are given to children by official sources. This issue of Urban World, which goes to about 165,000 seventh grade children and faculty across the country, contains perceptive analysis of military spying. The editors said that they received an unusually large number of letters, the majority of which said they "did not want a general under their desks; spying should be stopped..." One of the grouped named in the article as under military surveillance was Clergy and Laymen United Against the War in Vietnam (sic) The magazine is published by a subsidiary of the Xerox Corporation.