This morning, I followed my normal pre-work routine.  My alarm rang at 6:45.  I climbed out of bed to turn it off.  I climbed back into bed until the snooze alarm sounded.  I turned that off too, and climbed into bed again.  Finally, after thirty minutes of this game, I was ready to truly get up and face the world.  (Why I can’t just set my alarm thirty minutes later and sleep I’ll never know.)

Next, I journeyed to the bathroom for the morning ritual:  shower, shave, brush my hair (even though I buzz my hair), brush my teeth.  I got dressed, headed to the kitchen and poured myself a bowl of cereal.  I then embarked on a ritual I’ve had in some form or fashion since I was eight - I saw down and read the paper.  

When I was eight, I would literally spend 20 minutes combing through the local paper - skimming articles, checking out the day’s news, reading the funnies.  Nowadays, I migrate back to my computer and skim through the news stories on the website of the local paper.  If I have time, I’ll pop over to a few favorite sites or blogs that are on my newsfeed.  

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On the eve of Memorial Day a friend, the mother of a Marine, sent me this video. Now, just so you know where I'm coming from, I am a sucker for Memorial Day. I expanded upon this sentiment in a recent post at Beliefnet,com.  While the politics of war and hierarchical military directives can be a challenge for this outsider looking in, I find supporting that special breed of men and women who put their lives on the line in service of country to be a simpler task. That's why this video challenged my thinking and raised a number of questions for me, both as a Christian and a supporter of our troops.  

Questions like, what does it mean to share one's faith? How can/should a professing Christian navigate between a call to share their faith when operating in an environment where rules preclude it? Is it right to manipulate the meaning of words to make our actions outside the spirit of the law fit within the letter of the law? Would love to hear what you think...

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Last week, I posted about a new law in Afghanistan that severely restricts the rights of Shia women, stripping them of the ability to ever say no to sexual intimacy with their husbands. The law also required women to obtain permission from a male relative to work, to attend school, or to simply leave the home at all. Finally, the law compels women to put on make-up or dress up at the whim of their husbands. 

We all remember the stories that emerged soon after the Taliban regime in Afghanistan was removed from power. Women forced to wear burqas, unable to leave their homes unless escorted by a male relative. Women denied basic health care, even anesthetic for c-sections. Young girls forbidden to attend school.

Conversely, a photographic essay published a year after US troops came to Afghanistan loudly intimated, "THESE WOMEN ARE NOW FREE." I distinctly remember seeing photographs of Afghan women wearing high heels and makeup in TIME magazine. Somehow, the spikes and eye shadow were supposed to convince the world that equal rights had arrived to the country.

Today's news, then, was nothing short of distressing. Today, a law was passed in Afghanistan that gives husbands express permission to essentially rape their wives. Consent on the part of the wife was deemed unnecessary. Originally crafted to give the Shiite community it's own freedoms and identity, the clause on permissible, state sanctioned rape is drawing international scrutiny. 

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