You Must Have Something
Worth Dying For  

Thomas Martin  

      Thomas Martin teaches in the Department of Philosophy at the University of Nebraska at Kearney. You may contact Thomas Martin at: martint@unk.edu.

I am writing to support all those who wish to protest our involvement in Iraq. I support you! You are the reason I wear this uniform. I have willingly placed myself in harm’s way so that you can have the right to protest what I am doing. You are the reason why I fight. I have sworn to defend our rights and am willing to pay the ultimate price for it, my life. What are you willing to pay? I do this for you.

      These words belong to SPC Jason von Hoff and were in the “letter box” in the Kearney Hub, April 19, the Saturday before Easter. SPC von Hoff asked a question every protester of America’s war with Saddam Hussein ought to ask himself as should every person who enjoys the freedoms of this nation.

      In answering SPC von Hoff’s question “What are you willing to pay?” it is well to remember that he is not the first American to ask this question of his fellow Americans. Martin Luther King’s statement, “Unless you have something worth dying for, you have nothing worth living for,” is asking us to reflect upon a similar notion.

      King’s point is worth contemplating. Given all are going to die, it is important to ask ourselves, “Since we are not meant to live forever on this earth, what are we willing to die for?”

      Ironically, von Hoff sees that the rights worth defending, in fact, worth dying for, include the right to protest the very war in which he is fighting.

      King and von Hoff both see that while a person may die for his country it is not the case that a person ought to live for his country.

      Given that we are going to die, the question, “What ought we to die for?” is essential to having a meaningful life. There are various ways to answer the question: I live for myself? I live for my family? I live for my occupation? I live for my country? I live for my neighbor?

      If I were to live for myself, then I would die for myself. If this is the kind of person I am, then you ought not to trust me because I am only interested in myself.

      If I will live for my family, then I would die for my family. The members of my family might well trust me, but no one beyond my family ought to because I place my family before all others.

      The outcome of living for my occupation depends upon the reason for performing the duties of the occupation. For example, a nurse who lives to help patients maintain health and deal with their sufferings unto death has a different motive than a nurse who is performing the duties of nursing simply for money. A CEO of an airline who has his employees’ best interests in mind is different than a CEO who has his own best interests in mind at the expense of his employees, as the recent case of American Airlines shows.

      If I live for my country, then I would die for my country. But would the people of other countries trust me, knowing that I would sacrifice my life for my country without questioning whether what my country asked of me were right or wrong? This is SPC von Hoff’s point: while respecting the protesters’ right to protest, he is fighting in the war they protest. Fear the day when any American is not allowed to openly speak his mind to protest what the government is doing.

      If I would live for my neighbor, then I would die for my neighbor. Here it is important to remember, a neighbor is any person in need of one’s help or kindness. Need more be said?

      In all of this, it is important to remember that living cannot be separated from dying, and that when we give our lives to others we must die to ourselves. SPC von Hoff knows this. Martin Luther King knew this. But this is because both are echoing a truth that is not of this world, “Whosoever shall seek his life shall lose it; and whosoever shall lose his life shall preserve it.”

      Paradoxically, it is by losing our lives that we preserve what is sacred in our families, our occupations, our nation, our neighbors, and ourselves.     Ω