Loving War, Choosing Ignorance

Politically speaking, we are living in a dystopian novel, except that we are ignorant by choice - in the information age, you don't have to believe what Big Brother tells you on the telescreen, or give credence to the printed and posted agitprop from the Ministry of Truth, dubbed by Orwell as "Minitrue."

The whole narrative about the Syrian gas attacks is fertilizer, a repeat of four years ago.  It's bovine scatological matter to aid the growth of martial mush in the minds of patriotic but misled Americans. Very soon the difference between uncritical consumers of B.S. and those who deign to think for themselves will be more apparent than ever. This latest round of misinformation about Syria, though not  new, represents a watershed moment, an opportunity for free people to discover that our government really is THAT corrupt, controlled by an amoral, murderous cabal no matter who resides in the White House.

Or people can proactively decide that freedom isn't for them. These folks, made of the same stuff as you and I, lest we forget that it is God who makes us free, will continue to parrot rigid ideological slogans from wings left and right, all redounding to the health of the state. They will put aside their differences with each other (which, in the big picture, are akin to the difference 'tween Coke and Pepsi) to cheer for the troops. Sadly, their enthusiasm for supporting the troops will distract them from any critical analysis of the state's stated reasons for sending young Americans to be traumatized in wars having absolutely nothing to do with defending America, but that make our country a pariah as thousands of civilians are slaughtered, and rogue elements which are part of every invading army rape and pillage among those we are allegedly liberating.

When the troops come home with their PTSD, the jingoists who "thanked them for their service" will expect the VA to make them well again, BY GAWD. Never will these worshippers of all things military contemplate that it was a damn shame to send fine young men into Hell for the sake of oligarchs - oh, yes, and women too, must be equal equal equal, instead of women using their God bestowed feminine gifts, which make civilization civilized, let them do the same dumb things men do.

If you're a peace lover, be prepared to be called unpatriotic. Historically, you could even be imprisoned for opining against a particular war (cf. Lincoln, Wilson), or, if you're the wrong ethnic group, you might be sent to a concentration camp (cf. FDR, Hitler).

God help us to be peacemakers. Many of us were once deluded into believing the lies of the Warfare State. The propaganda apparatus is massive: all major television networks, the major newspapers, talk radio, and sadly, Christian media ("my people perish for lack of knowledge"). They are experts, using fear, manufactured consensus, and suppression of truth to make loyal citizens feel obligated to obey the state, rather than God (they're not the same, btw). We can't convince those who don't want to be convinced. When we encounter obtuse, impervious people we must pray for them - we've been the same way at some time in our lives. Respect where respect is due, and it is always due in some measure to those made in God's image.

Little children, keep yourselves from idols (1 John 5:21).

Nationalism, Crusades, and Anti-Semitism

Just learned that today is both Holocaust Remembrance Day and the March for Life. The latter is on a different date each year, the former is always on January 27, commemorating the liberation of the Auschwitz death camp in 1945.

Many seem to think that the Nazis rose to power in some backward, unrefined place.

But Germany in the 1930's was the most educated country in the world, according to historian Paul Johnson. A culturally advanced, learned people allowed a monster to take control of the government, and two state supported churches - Catholic and Lutheran - helped the regime scapegoat Jews. Thank God for some exceptions (Dietrich Bonhoeffer, the Confessing Church), but the sad truth is that anti-Semitism has its historical roots in "Christian" churches.

If the church doesn't exist to stop tyranny like Hitler, what is the church here for? I am not reassured by the blind allegiance to Trump among Evangelicals - the spirit of nationalism is foul smelling and not easily reined in once loosed.

I've been studying the Crusades lately, and learning some things I didn't want to know.

To wit:

In 1095, Pope Urban II called Christians to a crusade to take Jerusalem from the Muslims. En route, the Crusaders learned to love killing, including entire Jewish villages. They started out hating the Muslims as "enemies of Christ" and along the way many of them decided that Jews were "enemies of Christ" as well. These demonic hordes, marching in the name of our Lord, were the source of blood libels and pogroms, and the evil and stupid idea of blaming all Jews for the crucifixion of Jesus.

When the Crusaders arrived at Jerusalem in 1099, they not only slaughtered Muslims within the city, but also Jews as well. The Muslims had banned Christians because they were regarded as polytheists for adhering to the doctrine of the Trinity.

Interesting to me is the fact that Jews were banned from Jerusalem until Muslims retook the city in 1187. Saladin invited them back to the city, and also allowed Christians from Greek and Eastern churches to remain, because they had not persecuted Muslims.

It seems that anti-Semitism has been more prevalent among "Christians" throughout history than it has been among Muslims, with notable exceptions.

Spiritually speaking, I observe the same filthy spirit in today's anti-Muslim crusade as inhabited the anti-Muslim crusades of the middle ages. I hope it doesn't redound to a new wave of anti-Semitism, although it apparently already has in parts of Europe. There were neo-Nazis among those who staged the Ukrainian coup that our government and NATO backed during Hillary Clinton's tenure at the State department. It also is not helpful for our government and evangelical Christians to blindly support Netanyahu's oppression of Palestinians, or the demonization of the entire Persian/ Iranian race.

This is a heart issue. Stereotyping of any one ethnic or religious group tends to snowball into hatred of other groups. Pope Urban II called forth a mob against Muslims. He didn't intend for the mob to go after Jews, but he was powerless to restrain the juggernaut he had launched.

Do we ever learn?

The answer is blowing in the wind?