Brian McLaren writes a wonderful, respectful and thoughtful letter to the President about Afghanistan. Some of my favorite parts:

I believe now, as you and I both did then, that war is not the answer. Violence breeds violence, and as Dr. King said, you can murder a murderer, but you can’t murder murder. As the apostle Paul said, evil must be overcome with good, which means that violence and hate must be overcome with justice and love, not more of the same.

I was listening to a talk show today and I heard someone say something to the effect that if the U.S. is attacked again that we just need to carpet bomb Afghanistan. He said it very nonchalantly without thinking twice about it, and it made me very sad. Violence to stop violence does not work, maybe we should try something new?

I don’t argue for leaving Afghanistan high and dry as we’ve done too often in the past. Evil can’t be overcome by passivity or abdication, but only by positive good and creative action. In that spirit, I offer this humble proposal:

1. Take the 65 billion we would have spent there in the coming year and turn it into an aid and development fund. If you want to go farther, you could put a value on the cost of American lives that would be lost there (I have no idea how this inestimable cost could be calculated), and add that sum to the fund. 65 billion could build a lot of peace-oriented schools and hospitals in Afghanistan. It could serve as start-up capital for a lot of new businesses and it could pave a lot of roads. It could train a lot of police officers and it could enhance a lot of social infrastructure. It could give hope to a lot of women and girls who currently don’t have much hope, and it could provide a lot of constructive outlets for men and boys who right now don’t have many options besides picking up a machine gun and joining a warlord.

McLaren’s plan encapsulates the kind of smart, creative and hopeful leadership we need. Read the rest of McLaren’s open letter to the President here.

Tags:afghanistanbrian mclarenemergentmartin luther kingObamapresident obama