War, huh, yeah,
What is it good for?
Absolutely nothing.
Say it again, y’all.1
Terrorism as defined by Britannica is “the calculated use of violence to create a general climate of fear in a population and thereby to bring about a particular political objective.”2
The fighting between Israelis and Palestinians goes back thousands of years. Both sides have committed atrocities against the other. Volumes have been written about their conflicts, and I fear there are many more chapters to come. It’s not the first time such violence has raised its ugly head and it won’t be the last.
War, huh, yeah,
What is it good for?
Absolutely nothing.
Say it again, y’all. 1
Terrorism has also been around for centuries. It’s primary objective? Intimidation, radicalism, extremism, sabotage, through actions such as bombing, kidnapping, assassination, and lynching. A common thread is to kill in order to exact judgment or to lay claim to a territory. Now Hamas, officially the Islamic Resistance Movement, has attacked Israel and Israel in turn has declared war on Hamas.
Hamas is not the legitimate government of Palestine. It is a powerful terrorist organization that acts as the de facto government of Palestine in the Gaza Strip. Israelis are calling the Hamas attack their 9/11 and claim that it is causing the most casualties since the Holocaust in which six million European Jews were murdered. The Economist estimates say that, so far, 1300 Israelis have been killed (at least 260 of them at a music festival), 3300 injured, and 150 taken hostage. At this writing the numbers have grown and, with the inevitability of a ground war, will continue to do so.
(We Americans know the pain of loss and the fear of terrorism though the 9/11 attacks in which nearly 3000 were killed and 6000 injured. That doesn’t account for those who have died post-9/11 from the effects of the smoke and chemicals that infiltrated their bodies on that fateful day.)
War, huh, yeah,
What is it good for?
Absolutely nothing.
Say it again, y’all. 1
What is especially troubling with the attack on Israel by Hamas is the slaughtering of the innocents, including children—babies and toddlers massacred and burned. Even the most saintly among us must have to struggle to be able to find any compassion at all for people who would take such barbaric actions. Many seeking to escape Gaza are finding themselves out of food and water. Humanitarian groups are toiling to keep up with the demand.
The Hamas terrorism echoes around the world, increasing anti-Semitism and anti-Muslim hate. Right here in the United States, a six-year-old Chicago child was stabbed to death (26 stabbing wounds) by a likely deranged 72-year-old man, leaving the child’s mother severely wounded, simply because they were Muslims.
War, huh, yeah,
What is it good for?
Absolutely nothing.
Say it again, y’all. 1
I firmly believe that war is good for absolutely nothing, but its ongoing presence seems unstoppable. Those under attack will defend themselves, meeting violence with violence, perpetuating an endless cycle that will only cease if and when humankind universally commits itself to the greater good. That would take a miracle. Until then we can work for the greater good in our own communities. That’s where it has to start anyway.
“You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. Nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of birth pangs.” (Matthew 2:6-8, NIV)
Israel, oh Israel!
Will you ever know lasting Shalom?
Your people have been slaughtered through the years.
They are slaughtered still.
Knife, sword, gun, gas, rope, missile—
all trained on you.
Cain and Abel?
Isaac and Ishmael?
Jacob and Esau?
Broken families and blood spilled.
When will it ever end?
When?
…and that’s the view from The Balcony.
Randy Weeks is a Licensed Professional Counselor, a Certified Shamanic Life Coach, an ordained minister, a singer-songwriter, and an actor. He grieves the deaths of the innocents. Randy may be reached at randallsweeks@gmail.com
1 “War.” Lyrics and music by Barrett Strong and Norman Whitfield. © Royalty Network, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC.
2 Jenkins, J. Philip (2023, October 14). terrorism. Encyclopedia Britannica.
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