Pearls and Irritations

The description of Armageddon may be (to some) a fictional drama of woe and horror, yet what we are witnessing in Gaza could surely fit the defining crescendo of anarchic violence as described in the book of Revelation. In the biblical story there is an unleashing of the beast who wreaks havoc on earth. The weak and vulnerable Palestinians and those unable to feed themselves, let alone defend themselves against weapons, bombing, cholera, polio and death, quite possibly feel a resemblance to the biblical hell on earth.

The beast of war with unfettered power, revenge and brutality has reins upon its body which are held in the hands of US standards of war-time acceptable levels of violence against women and children. Those US reins pull just a little when the world demands Israel stop the carnage on the Palestinians. When the world appears satisfied that the US has duly rebuked Israel, they flick the reins to continue the violence. Chris Hedges warned that if the genocide in Gaza is not stopped we face a very dark future where industrialised nations with “technologically advanced military systems” will send a message to anyone who thinks of revolt that “the old rules… no longer matter… we will kill you without restraint and no one will stop us. One day you will all be Palestinians”. The Just War theory has been reinterpreted to mean, ‘The gloves are off and kill at will – even women and children.”

If this kind of deliberate and brutal assault is allowed on Gazans, then why would we believe any of us are safe if/when we resist violent and authoritarian control over our lives and our futures? We will be crushed. And since the precedence has been set right in front of the entire world, it will be unremarkable when swathes of humans are eliminated and shoved out the way of those who seek to dominate and rule with not only an iron fist, but also an iron mind and an iron will. What hope will people have if they are the flea under the beast’s foot?

How men thought up and penned such tales as in Revelation goes to show that the evil mindedness of humans is nothing new. But one would hope that resistance is far greater and more accessible to the masses now that we have communications at every level. The evil is the same, but the demand for peace is growing louder and louder as we witness protests the world over at the gruesome nature of Israel’s attempted annihilation of the Palestinians.

And while the world is demanding justice for Palestinians, nerves are threadbare at the possibility of just a small-scale precision strike which may be enough to trigger a much wider scale Armageddon. This would, in turn, bring other nations into the fray. People in Tasmania, Mauritius or the Faroe Islands may think this brutal attempted annihilation of the Palestinian people doesn’t affect them and they can continue with their day; yet if a larger scale escalation evolves, with successive US administrations arming and supporting the onslaught in the Middle East, even the remotest islands or cities could be victim to nuclear devastation.

There are currently two nations which are teetering on the edge of biblical “Revelationary” horror. The US scolds and wags its finger at Israel, yet signs off on billions of dollars’ worth of murder material with absolutely no intention of reining in Benjamin Netanyahu and his ilk. Can we expect anything different from a change of the guard in January? Probably not. Domestically, things may improve for the average American, yet foreign policy has a playbook that even the strong-minded and strong-willed Kamala Harris could not force a change in direction. And let’s not even think of what Armageddon Donald Trump could concoct if he wins. Unless the United States playbook is aggressively edited to reflect a more just, fair and honourable world we will see nothing but an escalation of evil proxy wars like Ukraine and the brutality of Israeli policies. For the sake of all humanity, the United States must cease seeking out avenues of conflict, financial interest and hegemony which destabilise the entire world with their greed for power.

When reading of the misery and suffering of other people, we should keep our resistance alive and kicking against those who would prefer war, devastation and wickedness to peace for themselves and those around them. What could be more important in any 24 hours than being peaceful with oneself and forging peace in those around us? If successive US administrations and Netanyahu believe that life should be lived by the sword, then move out of the way for the 99% of people who want to live in peace. Very few care what religion their neighbour follows or their ethnicity. Most people want to be relieved that the brazen brutality of Israel has been reined in and that a possible Armageddon is constrained by humanity, law and order.

We must continue to resist wars and injustice for those unable to defend themselves and to call out the United States and Israel for their shameful and atrocious actions on the weak and powerless.

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