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The hellbound martyr

Posted: Mar 19, 2008 Wed 08:40 pm     Views: 205    Interacts: 4

A martyr is someone who fights for a cause and ultimately sacrifices his life for it. Ideally, an evil cause wouldn't have a driving force enough to warrant a sacrifice, so it is established that the cause ought to be a good one. But then I wonder if fighting and murdering people for the cause of restoration of democracy in their own country is a cause good or evil? There are few things encapsulated by an aura of such uncertainty as the fate of the american troops fighting in Afghanistan, Iraq and so on and so forth. It's one thing to kill and die with the perspective that what you are doing is good and you'd be rewarded with a place in the paradise as is the case with the suicide bombers, and another to kill and die with no sense of perspectives at all. They are martyrs indeed, by the very definition of the word, they fight on behalf of their country and die, a good cause undoubtedly, but what their country is making them die for is evil. That's brainwashing too, as severe as that of the suicide bombers and perhaps even more, but at least it entitles them to a feeling of sympathy unlike the so-called terrorists.


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Latest comments
Posted by shobig_sifar on Thursday March 20, 2008 01:57 am
Thanks for your comments guys. Indeed, the American troops are not referred to as martyrs generally, nor are their endeavours even remotely associated to catholicism or Christianity, my case in point here is simply the irony and uncertainty that abounds their fates: the cause they fight for is as evil and unjust as it is good and just, both from their perspective and from that of the observer.
Posted by khakiflash on Thursday March 20, 2008 01:46 am
In my Roman Catholic education, the word 'martyr' had a rather narrow definition - someone who refused to renounce her/his faith under threat of death and subsequently executed for this reason. Of course(!) it generally only applied to holders of the Catholic faith - though sometimes it might be stretched to cover a Christian of another denomination when killed by a non-Christian for like reason. There may be a similar root cause as to why now American/foreign forces are not referred to by using the word 'martyr'. I doubt if ANY of their leaders or the troops themselves would claim that they are fighting to defend Christianity either in general or Catholicism in particular - though I've no doubt that some American neo-cons would love to purloin the word for this very purpose.
Posted by ayesha5 on Wednesday March 19, 2008 11:15 pm
I have never heard/read the word martyr being used for American/foreign forces even by their own media. They have no such concept. The word sacrifice and bravery is what I hear more often.
This word is deep rooted in our religion and has been mentioned with after life rewards but the cause should be just and mostly it is defensive not offensive.
Posted by Optimistic_Aadil on Wednesday March 19, 2008 09:39 pm
A few days back in a chat room I asked the same question from a would be american commando who was being trained somewhere in S.korea to fight in Iraq. He had nothing to answer and was confessing that they were like robots who're prepared to obey the instructions. And you know what, the same thing came under our discussion last night when we were there with 'Azure'. I toled him about you as well and he thought that you were somewhere in london.
Will write an ilog about our last night's outing.

Go well!

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