Gaza

Milton saw cause and effect. But from my perspective, human volition always takes the center stage. Two individuals can suffer from the same crime, illness or for that matter, a random act of nature. Both individuals will respond differently based on human volition. The one may find grace while the other embraces bitterness.

Free moral agency is the greatest and most powerful gift given by the Creator. It is unleashed for both immense good and great evil. Mother Theresa was a saint. And who needs the Devil when man is so perfectly capable of bringing irrevocable harm?

Conflicts exist, because we are fallen man. They have existed since Cain killed his brother. There is Ghengis Khan, Pol Pot, and bodies floating into Lake Victoria in this mad drum beat of history. These stories remain a dominant theme of our planetary existence. We are not a gentle bunch, but rowdy, unruly, unholy in our actions. But conflicts find their shape within the landscape of our mind. These shapes, then morph into verbal expression. Communication then define our shapes, which represent our opinions.

Healthy passions can be attached to conflict. The bombing of Pearl Harbor brought a naturally-occurring healthy passion which thrust America into a world war. The outcome brought a new world order. But there are tormented passions too. Palestine is a tormented passion. Driven by belief that history can be regressive, put into reverse, a weird return to a pre-Lapsarian world, these passions have become tormented and convoluted into shapes which are not recognizable when expressed.

Since October 7th, bloody thunder permeates the land of Gaza. Gaza is a land of frowning landscape, toothless and reduced to a gum line. Israel, will also bear the consequences of her own sin. But flip the coin. Gaza must also pay for her sins. The pale visage of death struck Israel on October 7th. And the locus of control was firmly established, supported, and assisted by citizens of Gaza. The plan was not poorly executed, but the strategy has a strong stench.

Truth is a solid mass. A rock. It has no fluctuations. And the truth is that Israel was set upon and what was meted out was undeserved. Now Gaza is faced with their own solid mass. It is called the full cup of wrath of the state of Israel.

I detest self-righteousness. Especially when attached as a sentiment to conflict. It is always coercive. I prefer to be the Publican. I recognize that without redemption, I struggle against my own essentially debase nature. So do you. And there is nothing self-righteous to be had in war. It is reduced to oath keepers and the operational plans which are handed out from day to day. It is a world of cold reason, and unfortunately, at times, it devolves to incomprehensible levels of madness.

Reason does give us the gift of autonomy But reason bereft of faith is paltry fare. So with reason, I understand that Palestine cannot return to what it was, no more than we can return to a pre-Lapsarian world. But faith reminds me that we can choose enlightenment over dark contemplation and vile forces. Gaza needs to turn their face toward the light.

Reason tells us that reality is not always a neatly packaged product and it can be quite messy. And reason means we must avoid the impulse to categorize Gaza as anything other than that which it has been for many decades now: a tormented passion, a people mired in a prior century; and a people in need of redemption from a failed manner of dealing with their neighbor, Israel.

@tammyswofford1