Kamikaze Survivors
Re: They've Outlived the Stigma: Once pariahs in Japan, 'kamikaze survivors' are now honored for their spirit of sacrifice. They resent being lumped in with suicide bombers.
Although it is true that the kamikazes attacked military, not civilian, targets, as suicide bombers do (and Truman did), their disregard for life cannot be justified. I don't buy their arguments, but here they are:
Re: They've Outlived the Stigma: Once pariahs in Japan, 'kamikaze survivors' are now honored for their spirit of sacrifice. They resent being lumped in with suicide bombers.
Although it is true that the kamikazes attacked military, not civilian, targets, as suicide bombers do (and Truman did), their disregard for life cannot be justified. I don't buy their arguments, but here they are:
- • They were ready to die out of love for their country, they say; suicide bombers are driven by hatred and revenge.
• The Shinto religion offers no reward of life after death. Islamic suicide bombers are promised a place in an afterlife.
• They were volunteers, motivated solely by patriotism. Suicide bombers often are recruited by militia leaders who offer money to their families.
Redeemed by Our Savior, I work out my salvation with fear and trembling in Pohang, South Korea, where I live with my wife, daughter, and son and teach English at a science and technology university. Baptized a Methodist and raised a Missouri Synod Lutheran in Buffalo, NY, I spent six years as a guest of the Anglican Communion before being received by the Grace of God into the One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church on the Feast of Saint Andrew, my patron, anno domini 2002.
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