Chemical weapons are nasty whoever uses them. Whether it is the Syrian government out of Damascus; the Nazi regime with orders from Berlin; the US generals in Vietnam or the Hussein autocracy against the Kurds it is a horrible way to die! Not that being shot or stabbed is that great either. All unmitigated and unsolicited violence is a distortion of civility. This brings us to religion. A history of not only a distortion of the civil but also of reality. From the worship of the sun to ‘One Direction’ we have a compendium of competition, hate and killing. And from that has come guns, knives and zyclon B. Obviously religion cannot be held entirely responsible but it must hold its hands and feet up and take a considerable share. And then steps in the narcissists from political parties and the media and we have potential for carnage.
Richard Drax in his column for ‘his masters mouthpiece’ has yet again decided to ignore the local and take us back to the 12th century for a bit of blind and partisan religious critique. Christianity slaughtering eastwards and Islam’s slaughter westward is not a matter for contrivance or hyped obfuscation but that is exactly what we have yet again been treated to. He takes one sided narrative to new levels as he sets off with ‘In lawless Iraq, Al Qaeda elements have torched Christian churches and murdered their congregations. Only 400,000 Christians remain mainly the elderly and impoverished.’ The obvious question is has he counted them? But we will leave the reliability of his sources for now. The bigger point is who was it that invaded Iraq? Corporate profiteers and the Christian fundamentalist right – oh yeah! So who is ultimately to blame for a nation state responding to their imperial aggressors? Oh yes us!
‘Similarly, in Egypt, the Coptic Christians have been under siege by extremists since the overthrow of President Mohammed Morsi.’ This was the democratically elected Muslim President Morsi? The one who was undermined by western politicos who decided that a new direction was required? Of course it was! ‘Meanwhile, our governments seem unwilling to condemn, or even to acknowledge, what’s happening.’ That is because they are up to their necks in it Mr Drax as if you did not know. All this appealing to UKIP voters is obviously a tactic hatched up with party officials to ensure that you keep your seat. Appeal to the reactionaries and landowners whose understanding of the machinations of realpolitik is restricted to ‘where’s my whip’ is still en vogue even in the 21st century.
‘If the Arab Spring is ever to mean anything, should we not be speaking up for our religious allies? Otherwise, Christianity will disappear from the place where it all began.’ If the Arab Spring is to mean anything to Richard Drax and all his other elitist cronies then undoubtedly but if it to have any remnants of democratic inclusion that contains an element of self determination it must ignore those who perceive being hung, drawn and quartered as sexual gratification. Go back to your masonic boys club Mr Drax and leave the world alone. If the Dorset Echo editor is stupid enough to believe your opinion counts for anything then it is their readerships responsibility to stop buying what a friend called the other day ‘Dire Straits’. When asked why she explained ‘Money for Nothing’. Says it all!
Flora the Implorer
