What Pegman Saw –
Collateral Peace
by John Yeo
‘
‘Thou shalt not kill:’ Intoned the priest.
‘Father!’
A small clear voice interjected from the congregation. ‘What about the weapons of killing stored in the cloisters?’
There was a sudden stunned silence as the venerable priest continued preaching, regardless of this uncalled for interruption.
‘Father do these cannon not signify a breach of the sacred teaching constituting a manifest hypocrisy?’
There was a loud ripple of voices drowning the flow of the sermon.
Then another voice loudly exclaimed. ‘Indeed Father: Cannon are indiscriminately fired at anyone, threatening, killing and maiming.’
The priest raised his hands to silence this diversion from his teaching, after a brief period of quiet, he replied.
‘The cannon are used to emphasise our strength and are a simple deterrent. Should they ever be fired any collateral killing would be the work of the cannon balls. There would be no blood on our hands or our conscience.’
150 Words, on Riga Cathedral in Latvia, written for whatpegmansaw.com . A weekly photo prompt on WordPress based on images from the chosen location.
Sent from my iPad
Talk about convenient. What a great take.
Thought provoking title at story. A convenient way to look at it indeed. Great to see you this week on Pegman!
Oh, the rampant hypocrisy! Argh! Sickens me.
oops… .I really did like it, though. How often during war are weapons hidden within places sacred… schools, hospitals, churches… places that ought not to be in the crossfire to begin with. places where people should be safe… grrrr…. and yet, strategically, it’s perfect for that very reason. Great write.
Priests don’t kill. Cannonballs kill. 😊
Morality likes to shift its shape, to adapt to what is most convenient under the circumstances. Yesterday, today, and tomorrow.
Nice story that makes me wonder how the weapons ended up there, and why?