On the EDge: We could sure use a Christmas miracle

December 24, 2018 Utah Channel 3

OPINION — The winter of 1914 had just arrived as a nascent war began to focus on what would become 400 miles of misery, death and destruction along the Western Front that snaked through France and Belgium from the Swiss border to the North Sea.

World War I was barely five months old, the killing fresh and escalating at a hellish pace that would eventually claim 9 million combatants and 7 million civilians.

The Western Front would become the major theater in, what was hoped, would be the war to end all wars.

Trenches were carved along this 400-mile stretch of blood and misery. Poison gas tore at the lungs of young men on the battlefield, massive aerial attacks cratered the land and tanks rumbled in a faceoff along a demarcation line of no retreat for the foot soldiers from both sides who were bombarded with ceaseless artillery fire.

But, on this field of inhumanity the cannons were temporarily silenced, the arms placed quietly on the ground and peace reigned, if only for a moment, when the troops took it upon themselves to stop the fighting to celebrate Christmas.

On Dec. 7, 1914, Pope Benedict XV asked for a temporary ceasefire, which was rejected by the leaders of the warring nations.

However, on Christmas Eve, the soldiers spontaneously laid down their arms to honor the day.

They sang Christmas carols.

They crossed the no-man’s land to exchange food and Christmas greetings.

They had friendly soccer matches on the bloody killing fields.

And, for a brief moment in one of mankind’s darkest times, they found a peace – if only temporary – that comes from somewhere deep within.

It was an act of chivalry, decency, humanity and courage.

The moment passed, of course, and these same troops eventually picked up their arms and set about the business of killing each other, often in the bloodiest, most horrific manner possible, for the glory of delusional leaders upholding a false sense of honor and fed by their own gluttony and greed.

Nothing comparable has occurred since, not during World War II, not in Korea, not in Vietnam, nor in the Middle East or any other place where soldiers venture into harm’s way.

It was a courageous act of humanity and peace because military codes forbid such voluntary laying down of arms – whether for Christmas or any other season or reason not ordered by the government – so any soldiers who would participate in such behavior these days would be court-martialed and suffer severe punishment, even if it happened to be the right thing to do, the moral thing to do, the humane thing to do.

We would do well to learn from those soldiers who, in the throes of war, found a way to maintain their dignity, compassion and respect regardless of the consequences of military jurisprudence.

Leadership is a tenuous thing, even in the best of circumstances, and it is often rooted in the emotional fervor of the day, subject to false fears and a sense of irrational jingoism.

Leadership is also, for the most part, a top-down governance that fails to take into consideration the good or need in all, serving only a select few.

And, peace?

Peace has become a lost commodity, even on the battlefield that has become our day-to-day existence.

We torture ourselves with an anger that flows more freely by the moment, hating, fearing, rising up against perceived faults and enemies because we are told to do so and not for legitimate purpose.

We turn against each other, although we share more than that which separates us.

There is no peace, no kindness, no humanity in what we have become, the divisiveness that is not part of the honest process of differences that fuel our growth and shape our destiny.

There are soldiers among us, I pray, willing to lay down their arms, fully recognizing that we need those honest differences to chart our course, that we can acknowledge them instead of unleashing the toxic poisons of hate and anger.

We need those soldiers willing to understand that the world does not revolve around them, that it is better to respect than to resent. We need those soldiers who honor dignity rather than deride something or somebody they just do not understand. We need those soldiers who understand that an acerbic tongue can be as damaging as a bullet.

Christmas is a time of joy, celebration, peace and love and I hope yours is better than you deserve.

But, if ever we could use a Christmas miracle, now is the time.

No bad days!

Ed Kociela is an opinion columnist for St. George News. The opinions stated in this article are his own and may not be representative of St. George News.

Email: edkociela.mx@gmail.com

Twitter: @STGnews, @EdKociela