And so it began

Joshua 1:1-11

1 And it came about after the death of Moses the servant of Jehovah that Jehovah proceeded to say to Joshua the son of Nun, the minister of Moses:

2 “Moses my servant is dead; and now get up, cross this Jordan, you and all this people, into the land that I am giving to them, to the sons of Israel.

3 Every place upon which the sole of YOUR foot will tread, to YOU people I shall certainly give it, just as I promised to Moses.

4 From the wilderness and this Leb´a·non to the great river, the river Eu·phra´tes, that is, all the land of the Hit´tites, and to the Great Sea toward the setting of the sun YOUR territory will prove to be.

5 Nobody will take a firm stand before you all the days of your life. Just as I proved to be with Moses I shall prove to be with you. I shall neither desert you nor leave you entirely.

6 Be courageous and strong, for you are the one who will cause this people to inherit the land that I swore to their forefathers to give to them.

7 “Only be courageous and very strong to take care to do according to all the law that Moses my servant commanded you. Do not turn aside from it to the right or to the left, in order that you may act wisely everywhere you go.

8 This book of the law should not depart from your mouth, and you must in an undertone read in it day and night, in order that you may take care to do according to all that is written in it; for then you will make your way successful and then you will act wisely.

9 Have I not commanded you? Be courageous and strong. Do not suffer shock or be terrified, for Jehovah your God is with you wherever you go.”

10 And Joshua proceeded to command the officers of the people, saying:

11 “Pass through the midst of the camp and command the people, saying, ‘Get provisions ready for yourselves, because three days from now YOU are crossing this Jordan to go in and take possession of the land that Jehovah YOUR God is giving YOU to take possession of it.’”



And so it began.



Violence has again broken out in the Middle East. Which we hear about with the same regularity as "do you want paper or plastic?" The important thing to remember is this is not a new issue. This has been going on, off and on, since Joshua led the Tribes of Israel into the Land of Milk and Honey thousands of years ago. Well, not when he lead his people into the Jordan River valley, but rather when they proceeded to clear the land of idol worshippers, namely, the ancestors of the Palestinian people, as well as many others I'm sure any one attending Church regularly could rattle off.

There's more than enough blame to go around for all parties involved. Suicide bombers, war planes, Kaatusha rockets, tanks, more suicide bombers, bulldozers, dead children, more dead children. It never seems to end. I find it kind of ironic that three of the world's five or six major religions refer to the region as the "Holy Land". In a part of the world better known for floating on a sea of oil, this one floats on a sea of blood. I wonder just how far you'd have to drill to get a scarlet stream gushing out of the ground? My guess is not too deep.

World wars, the Crusades, the rise of the Islamic empires, people have fought over this area for ages untold. I'm sure whoever was there before the people Joshua and company removed, did the same thing to whoever was there when they first showed up. It's human nature "that pretty" BONK! "pretty, mine!"

To me, what is probably the biggest issue is competing religions. Now, remember, what religion means to you and I, sitting in our technically advanced, modern-marvel-filled-world, was a much different issue for people thousands and thousands of years ago. It should be painfully obvious that it's quite different for people just part-way around the globe from us. I love attending Mass at my local Parish, and I would be royally pissed if someone blew it up. But some how I'd like to think it's not part of the American psyche to unleash a hatred that would endure for thousands upon thousands of years, causing nothing but pain, death and heartache for our descendents without end.

Americans are different breed. We're more the type to take care of the issue sooner, rather than later, no matter what it costs us. We're also the type to have enough military toys laying around so that others would take notice and think twice. And we're also not above using our military to grab some two bit thug dictator by the scruff of the neck and shaking him (have we toppled any female run dictatorships?) as an example to others in the region to say "You assholes sure you want a piece of this!?!?"

I would be remiss if I didn't acknowledge the times America has used its military might for self gain. Cuba may have deserved liberation from Spain, but that doesn't necessarily mean they deserved to be sold to the Mafia. But in my opinion, so far, we still come out on the plus side of St. Peter's log book. You have to admit, the concept of modern democracy, a reasonably free Europe, Russia, Japan and South Korea, the Industrial Revolution, the Information revolution, and figuring out exactly how to remove a disease from the list of things that plague most humanity is pretty impressive.

There are also other types of people in the world. People who have no care for anything other than raw brute power and strength (and Americans are well represented on that list too, I'm differentiating myself). There are people who think and plan and work in ways I couldn't even imagine. For example, some one who would engage a US Marine patrol in an ambush, and then hide behind their children to allow survivors to reap the publicity windfall they know will come from the mainstream media. How does a mind like that work? I can't even imagine. But, in a way, that's the modern day version of what Joshua met when he entered the Land of Milk and Honey. And by that I mean, two alien cultures, worlds apart on the basic building blocks of society, living next to each other. First it's throwing leaves over the fence when one rakes, because it's funny. Then it's water on the roof when it's freezing. The next thing you know, there's a museum in the Palestinian-controlled areas that glorify the idiot who strapped on a bomb belt and blew up some twenty kids at a pizza parlor.

The "Holy Land" has been a tinderbox for violence and destruction since the United Nations created it by committee (see what happens when you draw national boarders by committee?). On the one hand, the Muslims do have a dog in this fight "If you felt guilty because of the Holocaust then why don't you give them your country?" On the other hand Israel is here, and it's not going anywhere. And I don't think it should. Its a model of what civilization and humanity can create, even under the most adverse circumstances. It's also a stunning contrast to what humanity will refuse to do, under any circumstances. The Gaza Strip greenhouses being a stellar example.

How to reconcile the differences? One side says the land is theirs because God promised it to them (and I believe, technically, the current manifestation of Israel isn't even in the Jordan River valley). The other says they want to wipe their opponents off the human genome.

As anyone who's read my past writings knows (I think that list is limited to my editor and myself) this is a fight I've come to believe has long been coming. The West and Islam have never come to grips with each other. It wasn't much of an issue with America in the past, because the vast distances of the oceans. On September 11, we learned that doesn't matter any more. We're in a new, uncharted world. Might this be the time to finally settle this once and for all? Cease-fires, negotiations, and UN Sanctions don't have much of a track record. After all, how exactly does one hold cease-fire negotiants in good faith with people who throw parties to celebrate the death of their child who blew himself up in order to kill other children? Yes, a new, uncharted world.