Jaspenelle over at The Painted Dragonfly poses a very difficult question: If a religious civil war broke out in your country, would you stand against it? Or would you flee? (I’m paraphrasing here.)
I had to answer honestly that I would flee. I know that I am nowhere near as strong as I pretend to be, and I don’t think I would have the strength to fight, whether that be physical fighting or any other type. I wonder if this makes me any less of a devotee to my religion? I don’t think it does, partly because some of us are meant to be warriors, and others realize they don’t have that power. (That’s not to say that I wouldn’t work in some capacity against this hypothetical war.)
Maybe if it really were to happen I would feel differently. I have surprised myself before when I called up some latent strength to take a stand against something I felt was wrong. I do consider myself lucky to be a Canadian though, because I feel we are less like to see a religious civil war here than in many other countries. (At least I sincerely hope so.)
I don’t think it makes you any less devoted to your path to flee. There are also many ways to fight other than wielding a weapon (the first thing coming to mind is simply offering aid to others who are fleeing.) It is not always possible to fight especially if children, loved ones and personal philosophies are in the mix.
Thank goodness the question remains hypothetical! But because of that I can of course only speak intellectually about it for I know not how I would react if someone put a gun to my head, or goddess forbid, my husband’s head.