Knocking on heaven’s door.

The way things are going, that is what we all may be doing soon, whether we wish to or not.  As if the Russia-Ukraine War, China threat, migrant crisis, rampant inflation, and surging crime rates weren’t enough, we now have a war in the Middle East, with thousands of innocents injured, captured, or dead.  Perhaps worst of all, none of these things had to happen.  (Israel has, on more than one occasion, offered the Palestinians a two-state solution — their own state — and has been rebuffed each time, because the latter are far more interested in wiping Israel off the map.  Hence the latest attacks.  True to form, the Biden administration has already essentially urged Israel not to defend itself.  It seems to believe that, alone among nations, Ukraine has that right.)

But this is what does happen when a nation is distracted with lesser things and internal squabbles.  This is what happens when you don’t have total control over your border.  This is what happens when evil is rewarded, even if by your “friend(s).”  This is what happens when your opponent or enemy doesn’t believe you will retaliate in a truly devastating fashion because it believes you to be worried about what others might think.  And what those others may think is borne of some combination of naïveté, a lack of historical knowledge, and outright willingness to abet evil.  Indeed, this is what is likely to occur when you are worried that some will view your response as “too strident,” “aggressive,” or “not commensurate.”  (Don’t believe in the concept of good and evil?  We’re all just the same?  Ever hear of a Bible study group strapping bombs to their torsos and blowing up a madrassa?  Speaking of the Bible, it speaks of battles involving Israel.)

Two decades and change after 9/11, this is what is coming to America in the near future.  We are fighting among ourselves.  (Or, to be fairer, the left is incessantly attacking the non-left, particularly the MAGA types it deems “terrorists,” though the non-left, including the MAGA types, never really fight back.  Hmm.)  We are bizarrely distracted by non-issues surrounding sex, drag queens, and climate.  Our border is wide open.  We have dispensed with the Ten Commandments and instead are welcoming the Church of Satan into our public schools, along with books like Genderqueer and All Boys Aren’t Blue.  Many are pushing for unfettered abortion up to — or just a wee bit after — the moment of birth.  Parents, too, whether MAGA or not, are being branded “terrorists” for expressing concern for what their children are being taught.  And if they dare to speak up, to challenge those who deem themselves to be “public servants,” they are summarily silenced, removed from the room, or worse.  They are “too strident,” and desirous of fomenting hatred and violence, you see.  And that is why nothing ever changes, can never change.  Hard fact: You get what you tolerate.

In many cases, you also get what you vote for — and therefore deserve.  Unfortunately, there is nearly always “collateral damage” — in this case, the lives and fortunes of others.  Trump would not have sent another $6 billion to Iran recently.  Nor would he have left countless billions of dollars of excellent American military equipment in Afghanistan for the use and edification of the Taliban.  (It is also highly likely that the Ukraine-Russia War would either not have occurred or been much shorter in duration if Trump were still in office.)

As Churchill stated repeatedly in his “Wilderness Years,” World War II never needed to happen.  That it did is a true tragedy.  There is nothing more regrettable than needless death and suffering.  (Not even “mean” tweets, no matter how “strident in tone.”)  This attack did not need to happen, either.

Appeasement of evil can only lead to one outcome: evil rising, waxing, thriving...winning.

But we never learn from history.

If Israel should decide to heed calls for “restraint,” the bombing — and the bloodshed — will never cease.  Unless, perhaps, fire comes down from heaven.

Image: Gage Skidmore via Flickr, CC BY-SA 2.0.