Worth a 1000 Words!

Regardless of purpose, no sane person embraces war. We should as a country and a people only pursue war as an extreme last resort to settle differences. It is not an exercise that should be undertaken lightly because the consequences for individuals on both sides are far too important and long lasting. War is most often the result of the failure of diplomacy or the response to rabid leadership by the “dictator de jour.” These satanically driven monsters do exist. They are equally comfortable abusing their own people and threatening their neighbors to achieve their nefarious ends.

As a nation, we have been called upon periodically in our history, to rise up and interfere with those who would deprive others of liberty and peace. We have invested huge amounts of treasure, comfort, and worst, some of our finest youth to secure those ends. I will not chronicle each struggle but each had a signal moment which identified the turnaround point. Not the end of strife but a recognizable moment of significant importance to safely envision victory. Although sometimes simple, it often encapsulates the nature of the conflict and heralds the possibility of peace.

This picture, by Michael Yon, was taken as a combined group of Christians and Muslims in Iraq found the cross and replaced it on St. John’s church in Baghdad. Once cleaned and re-installed, it marked that “turning point” where it was possible for a measure of coexistence to become possible. In a region of the world where being identified as a Christian is often a death sentence, this is a remarkable event. Although not directly involved in re-raising the cross, it is a huge acknowledgment of the sacrifice made by so many young American men and women who have fought to achieve this event.

And who, you may ask, is this Michael Yon? He is a journalist and photographer who as a blogger http://michaelyon-online.com/ and independent has spent a huge amount of time in Iraq reporting on the war without the onerous presence of left wing editors so common in the regular media. He is sustained in his embedded status only by the generosity of his readers. Those persons who want their news from the front unvarnished and un-opinionated have few other reporters with his objectivity. If truth is your goal, I suggest you check out his website. He has performed a noble service.

This seems especially appropriate since we are coming up on November 11th. This marks the observance of Veteran’s Day which I prefer to call by its original name, Armistice Day. As a veteran, it pleases me that we set aside a day to acknowledge those who served our nation in times of peril. In the original form, we celebrated the end of hostilities. It seems a significant difference to me. Most veterans had as their greatest goal, not glory in battle, but return to their family and their homeland.

In His abiding love,


Cecil Moon

Ed. Note: If you don't share Zion Beckons? with anyone else, please share this one post with those you love. It's an important and happy piece of news coming out of the middle east, a rarity these days, given the attitude of the left-wing, liberal mainstream media.