In February 2007 I stood for the first time in a Cambodian building that used to be a
school, and surveyed hundreds of black and white photographs. Each one depicted someone whose last days
were spent in that place, Tuol Sleng, which became one of the most notorious
symbols of the horror that was the Pol Pot regime.
Visiting a site such as Tuol Sleng or the nearby ‘killing
fields’ of Choeung Ek inevitably leads to questions including “How did such a
horror occur in relatively recent history?”
In considering this question I came face to face with the
harsh reality that much of what occurred in Cambodia was a product of western
intervention. Western assistance for the
Khmer Rouge began with US bombing of the Cambodian countryside and ended with
Margaret Thatcher’s government sending the SAS to help train Khmer Rouge militants.
I know that we who live in western nations can easily
believe we are doing the right thing when we intervene in nations whose
governments don’t align with our understanding of freedom and democracy. However, having seen first-hand the effects
of carpet bombing, landmines, napalm and Agent Orange on the inhabitants of SE Asia please
forgive me if I have become a little cynical of our ability to know what is
good for other nations. I have to admit
that this cynicism has only increased as we have believed that removing Saddam
Hussein would make Iraq a good place to live or that removing Muammar Gaddafi
would fix Libya.
It is with these thoughts in mind that I’m considering the
inauguration tomorrow of the 45th president of the USA. There is very little that seems to suggest
that Donald Trump is a person of noble character and every indication that
something has gone horribly wrong with US politics if he is the best person
they could find to lead the nation.
However, as I have thought about this unexpected event in
US history I have had to rebuke myself for being so ‘American’ about
America. If I have one historical
criticism of the USA (and Britain too at times) it is the national tendency to ‘know
what is best’ for other nations.
The biblical book of Romans includes the difficult verse,
“Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no
authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God.” The implication of these words, which were
written under Roman rule, is that it is not our job to second guess the wisdom
of God in allowing rulers of nations to rule, however bad they may seem to us.
The answer to Donald Trump is not to bomb Trump tower or
arm militant Democrats (an American solution), or to moan about him (a British
solution), but to trust God to decide how long he remains president and to pray
for the USA (a biblical solution).
God bless America!
A really useful comment. Thanks Matthew
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