The Radical Child

I was in my senior high school German III class when it happened. It didn't faze me back then but ultimately got me to seeing how united and civil America was after the incident with everyone looking past their differences, only for the country to quickly regress to its toxic political culture, which today has become terminally cancerous to the point where I seriously fear nuclear war at home or across the whole world, and I sure as fuck don't want to die as a result of my country's lunatic elected officials.

Both the government and media are well beyond corrupt, and just giving even the slightest attention to US politics (or so much as gazing at a newspaper headline) for me is akin to gazing into the fucking Ark of the Covenant. As a freelance video game journalist (and game journalism is every bit as a bad, biased, and corrupt as political journalism), I can definitely attest to the reality of bias by omission, journalists acting like they're entitled to their own facts in addition to opinions (and the media's "fact checkers" are themselves usually very subjective in what they deem to be "misinformation"), and selective reporting.

In the twenty-three years since then, the world hasn't become any fucking better or safer than it was back then than if we hadn't gone to war at all (we should have just focused on protecting America from terrorism both domestic and foreign and keep barriers between police and intelligence down instead of invading other countries as had been a long habit in my shithole country's history), probably even a fuck of a lot worse. Really ironic that the same dumbasses who bitched about the Second Iraq War are now perfectly content with pissing away money on that greedy-ass corrupt thug in charge of Ukraine (and the same said dumbasses had also bitched about the government "taking away our rights" to fight terrorism despite simultaneously trying to take away our gun rights).

As for Ukraine, I know people say they're fighting for "freedom and democracy," but democracies don't go under martial law, censor the media, ban opposition political parties, or suspend elections. I'm sure if the Ukrainians were to "win," they'd commit genocide against the Russians and Crimeans within their borders, and America would turn a blind eye and exercise its almighty United Nations veto right on any condemnation, as it probably would on itself were nuclear civil war to occur in my nation. A ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine would be vastly preferable to blindly supporting one nation over the other, and I heard that several peace offers from Russia had been rejected.

As for Israel, I don't see what the hell is wrong with just fucking recognizing Palestinian statehood. Given that America wasn't exactly receptive towards its own states' independence movements as demonstrated by the War for Southern Independence (incorrectly called "the Civil War"), I can understand why we would blindly stand by Israeli supremacism in the region. Giving the Jews their own special country after the Second World War I think was a huge mistake in the first place since it would be akin to giving Christians, Muslims, Hindus, or Buddhists their own "happy places." I think Israel at least should become a secular state like America and most nations across the world are, and even many Jews are anti-Zionist. Yes, Hamas' leaders need to be brought to justice, but so do the Israeli leaders committing genocide against the Palestinians, and apartheid also needs to be ended in Gaza (in addition to Palestine if it truly becomes independent) and a ceasefire implemented.

The Forever Wars need to fucking stop, plain and simple. I'm fucking sick and tired of war. We didn't win most of the wars since Vietnam, so what the fuck makes anyone think we'll "win" the ones currently going on? I'm sick of all this dumb illogical bullshit.

Republic of Ireland to officially recognise State of Palestine

This speaks to me for a few reasons, such as my Irish ancestry, that Ireland is currently ruled by conservatives, and that the International Criminal Court has issued arrest warrants for both Israeli politicians and Hamas leaders. Given my current state in life right now, I firmly believe in the right to exist in peace, but I can understand the United States standing by Israel, given its own history in not letting its own countrymen leave and live peacefully (case in point, the Civil War, even though hypocritically, the US has selectively supported independence movements for other countries across the world throughout history).

Yes, the Hamas are terrorists, but end apartheid in Gaza and lay down the fucking law instead of indiscriminately slaughtering them. Even extremists can be reasoned with, if only through force. I know a Palestinian woman in my church whom I've known since high school, and she's a genuine kind, caring woman, so when you meet one person of a particular group, you're not meeting them all. I know I had said before that I supported one country called Palestine, but I scratch that and admit I was wrong then (and most politicians who flip-flop don't fucking acknowledge doing so and explaining why).

I think Israel's reasons for holding on to Palestine are bullshit, in that they think they have ancestral claim to the territory. So fucking what? No one in the United States has ancestral claim to the country other than the Native Americans and Hispanics descended from them and Spanish immigrants, but that doesn't mean everyone else (whites, blacks, most immigrants) should be subjected to genocide. Exodus 23:9 says, "You shall not oppress an alien, for you know the heart of an alien, since you were aliens in the land of Egypt." So yeah, very sacriligeous what Israel is doing at the moment.

That's my take, folks. Have a nice day.

Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ by Lew Wallace
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Written by Union Civil War General Lewis “Lew” Wallace, the first fictional work of literature blessed by a Roman Catholic Pope (Leo XIII), and the inspiration for numerous live-action and animated film adaptations, Ben-Hur opens with the Three Magi: Gaspar the Greek, Melchior the Hindu, and Balthasar the Egyptian, visiting the newborn Jesus Christ in Bethlehem. Twenty-one years later, the Roman Messala and the titular Jewish protagonist, Judah Ben-Hur, have a rivalry, with the latter being sent to galley slavery for life after a tile from a home whence he witnesses a procession nearly kills the new procurator of Judea, Valerius Gratus.

A few years later, Ben-Hur labors as a galley slave aboard a ship commanded by Quintus Arrius, who is fascinated by the young Jew and thus adopts him as his son. In Antioch, Judah sees Messala again and yearns to rival him in a forthcoming chariot race while hearing of a Messiah speaking of a greater kingdom, not of the Earth. The race transpires, but the results are contested, with northern barbarians dispatched to kill the Jew when he finds himself in an empty palace following the games. However, a maneuver involving his falsified demise allows him to escape.

Afterward, Pontius Pilate succeeds Valerius Gratus as governor of Judea, and Ben-Hur seeks his mother and sister, who went missing after the incident that led him into slavery in the first place. He eventually meets the prophesized King of the Jews, witnessing His miracles and returning to his former palace. Throughout the book, Judah befriends Balthasar’s daughter Iras, who talks of an escaped galley slave Jew who murdered others when they reunite. Messala's fate receives its resolution, Judas Iscariot betrays Jesus, and the Messiah is crucified, having refused the throne of His ancestor David.

While I had read this around a decade ago, it didn’t very well stick with me, but I remembered some elements. However, I enjoyed Ben-Hur more with my recent reread. The historical and geographical tidbits indicate that Wallace did his research, with the names of the Wise Men and their respective countries of origin adding nice touches. I could well relate to the themes, within and without my Christian faith, and while there were many portions I somewhat skimmed, I could still follow the central plot well. Granted, much of the dialogue is awkward, such as “Unclean, unclean!” regarding lepers, but Ben-Hur is a must-read for any Christian book enthusiast.

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