Deluded Populations and Sacral Propaganda

It's evident to all in the West that Russian media twists and distorts the Ukraine War narrative. The state obfuscates the extent of the war, downplays its intensity, ignores and spins civilian deaths and in general misleads its public as to the nature, cause, and goals of its policies.

In addition to this and to the outrage of many, Vladimir Putin the Russian president quotes Scripture and draws parallels, even blasphemous comparisons between the 'sacrifices' made by Russian soldiers and the death of Christ. He presents a picture in which the Russian public is led to believe that God is with them and their cause. He stands by their troops and their cause is just and righteous.

Indeed it is sickening and could even be described as evil.

And yet if one merely changes the names and places – swapping Ukraine for Iraq and Afghanistan and trading Putin for Bush we could find an exact parallel. There is no difference at all between the sickening propaganda of the Russian state in 2022 and what we witnessed in the United States during the early years of the twenty-first century – which was merely a new chapter in what had already occurred during the Cold War years.

A further irony is found in that there have been hints of the Russian state upping conscription quotas and in response Western Christian commentators and leaders have hinted that such a move would be beyond the pale. They would certainly protest and support the efforts of Russian men who resisted the draft and encourage those who expressed conscientious objection.

It's a case of outrageous hypocrisy. As the Iraq War turned into a quagmire and enlistment numbers were in decline, there were calls for the draft to be reinstated in the United States. Thankfully, Vietnam era planners like Rumsfeld resisted this. His war plans were evil and disastrous but he at least learned that conscription was in part what turned the public against Vietnam and it was the domestic resistance that played a role in the loss of political will and the ultimate collapse of the war. Additionally the bulk of the public to this day remains ignorant of the fact that by 1973 the US military was in a state of near collapse and they were experiencing widespread episodes of insubordination and mutiny. The leaders from that period have remained committed to an all volunteer force.

And yet it was during these discussions around 2004 and in the years following that the Christian Right came to the fore. I recall frequently hearing voices on Evangelical radio calling for the re-instatement of the draft and arguing for it in Christian terms no less. It was truly a disgusting episode and yet some of these same voices would in the case of Russia encourage draft resistance on Christian principles – so utterly blind they are to their own moral compromise and cognitive dissonance.

Of course every faithful Christian will refuse to take up arms for the state. All Christians resist the state when it comes to conscription. The 'heroes' of the Vietnam era are those who did so and paid a price. Christians should have nothing to do with killing or even the wider bureaucracies that encompass law enforcement and the military. Let the Babylonians serve Babylon and fight Babylon's wars. They have nothing to do with us. Whether the American Babylon builds its empire or loses it should make no difference to us unless we have become confused in our thinking and in our allegiances.

As far as what is happening in Russia. It's sad, tragic, and evil. But in terms of guilt and shame all of this is amplified in the United States where there's a much wider availability with regard to the Bible and supposedly Bible teaching. And yet in the case of America's wars (and Bush's evil wars in particular) it was the Evangelical movement and the larger Christian Right that offered the most support and remained steadfast in their defense of Bush's lies and atrocities.

Pray for the people of Russia and Ukraine. But pray especially for the Biblically-oriented churches in these lands. May they refuse to hear the fell voices of American Evangelicalism.

We should be outraged over what's happening in Russia. But those who drank Bush's 'Kool-Aid' have no moral standing.