lenny unencumbered

It is forbidden to kill; therefore all murderers are punished unless they kill in large numbers and to the sound of trumpets.

–Voltaire

The U.S. has been involved in military conflicts of one type or another for about 229 years of its 250-year history. That means that its population has experienced only about 20 years of total peace.

During wartime, a significant number of Americans must surely feel convinced that they’re justified in their bellicose attitude, or how else can one explain such a continuous history of aggression? The U.S.’s prosperity and dominance certainly seem to support the idea that war is a dominant factor in its economic success on the world stage.

I have little doubt that there is no stronger inducement in matters of war than invoking religion, and Jesus, particularly, to sway the masses in favour of military action. It has been done for thousands of years and very successfully.

While American sentiment is generally anti-war (there was a brief period in the 60s when they really demonstrated their resentment), there can be no doubt that there is an appetite for it if the right buttons are pushed. The “thank you for your service” culture is pervasive and goes beyond mere patriotism, found among liberals and conservatives alike.

Has anyone questioned what exactly you are thanking them for? I sometimes question how many patriots are genuinely troubled that the service includes killing a stupendous number of innocent women and children on a regular basis, or whether they even know.

The U.S. may rank only third among the world’s armed forces in active-duty personnel, behind India and China, but its military budget outstrips that of the next six countries combined, including Russia and the two previously mentioned. That astounding level of spending spawned what is now commonly referred to as the Military Industrial Complex, which has a whole separate level of derangement and depravity associated with it.

It is therefore not surprising that there has been insignificant resistance to the Trump Administration’s renaming of the Department of Defence to the Department of War. It is ironically one of the most honest things any administration has done. Why fuck around? Just call it what it is, right?

If the renaming wasn’t enough to validate America’s ambition to be the premier imperialist empire, then the retention of Pete Hegseth as Secretary of War, despite his conspicuous unsuitability to command a military force, must leave no doubt. Hegseth’s giant Deus Vult tattoo, meticulously sculpted hairline, fake TV-host charm, and fanatical evangelical bigotry are otherwise perfect credentials for steering the charge to mass murder.

Hegseth almost always invokes nationalist rhetoric and biblical language and scripture to justify military engagements. He conducts Christian worship and prayer services at the Pentagon and has made no effort to conceal his thirst for blood and violence. His other accomplishments include marginalising non-Christian and minority personnel in the armed forces, because I guess it’s much harder to motivate those who don’t share your religious worldview.

Let’s not forget the narcissistic man-child currently heading the evil empire. No person has obliterated the same nuclear stockpile and weaponry of another country more times than Donald Trump. Laugh you may, but it gets better!

Nobody has won the same war more times than him, and nobody has negotiated the same ceasefire more times either. It is truly an accomplishment that will never be repeated, ever. It’s no wonder he’s immortalised in such memes as the one below:

I am frequently bewildered by why ordinary Christians cannot recognise how and when their faith is being perverted, and not only seem helpless to do anything about it, but are frequently willing to look past the transgressions. The 17th-century French mathematician and physicist Blaise Pascal, who identified with the Jansenism movement within Catholicism, famously observed how religion is so often misappropriated by immoral men:

Men never do evil so completely and cheerfully as when they do it from religious conviction.

I recently discovered the music of David Rovics, an independent singer/songwriter who releases his music for free so that his anti-war and social justice messages are widely distributed. Together with Jordan Smart, another activist and folk-music singer/songwriter, they have both been asking a very important question that the followers of Christ need to take more seriously.

Who would Jesus bomb?

I will leave the YouTube videos together with the lyrics below. Same question, different approach. Enjoy!

I’ve seen you in the markets
I’ve seen you in the streets
And at your political convention
Talking of your crusade
Talking of your nation
And other things too terrible to mention
And you proclaim your Christianity
You proclaim your love of God
You talk of apple pie and mom
Well I’ve just got one question
And I want an answer
Tell me, who would Jesus bomb?

Maybe Jesus would bomb the Syrians
Cause they’re not Jews like him
Maybe Jesus would bomb the Afghans
On some kind of vengeful whim
Maybe Jesus would drive an M1 tank
And he would shoot Saddam
Tell me, who would Jesus bomb?

I’ve seen you on the TV
And on the battleships
I’ve seen you in the house upon the hill
And I’ve heard you talking
About making the world safer
And about all the men you have to kill
And you speak so glibly
About your civilization
And how you have the moral higher ground
While halfway around the world
Your explosives smash the buildings
Ah, if you could only hear the sound

But maybe Jesus would sell land mines
And turn on his electric chair
Maybe Jesus would show no compassion
For his enemies in the lands way over there
Maybe Jesus would have flown the planes
That killed the kids in Viet Nam
Tell me, who would Jesus bomb

Yes I hear you shout with confidence
As you praise the lord
And you talk about this God you know so well
And you talk of Armageddon
And your final victory
When all the evil forces go to hell
Well you’d best hope you’ve chosen wisely
On the right side of the lord
And when you die your conscience it is clear
You’d best hope that your atom bombs
Are better than the sword
At the time when your reckoning is here

Cause I don’t think Jesus would send gunships into Bethlehem
Or jets to raze the towns of Timorese
I don’t think Jesus would lend money to dictators
Or drive those SUV’s
And I don’t think Jesus would ever have dropped
A single ounce of napalm
So tell me, who would Jesus bomb?

If Jesus Christ came back today, like you threaten he will
Which poor group of people do you think that he would kill?
Who would Jesus choose to starve if you gave him the chance
And if there was a genocide, would he take a neutral stance?

Who would Jesus bomb?
Tell me, who would Jesus bomb?
Would it be kids in Palestine, or how ’bout Vietnam?
Would Jesus bomb the Atheists, the Muslims or the Jews?
I want you to ask yourself, “What would Jesus do?”

Would he say, “it’s complicated, there’s sinners on all sides”
Or would he say that some people, they just deserve to die
If Christ the Savior rose again, then on a sidewalk slept
Would you extend a hand to him, or just watch where you stepped?

Who would Jesus bomb?
Tell me, who would Jesus Bomb?
Would it be kids in Palestine, or how ’bout Vietnam?
Would Jesus bomb the Atheists, the Muslims or the Jews?
I want you to ask yourself, “What would Jesus do?”

Would Jesus hate the Gay folks, or the Queer folks or the Trans
Would he suggest they end their lives according to God’s plans?
Would Jesus tell the homeless man to get a fucking job
Or turn his back on the poor, would Jesus be a snob?

Who would Jesus bomb?
Tell me, who would Jesus bomb?
Would it be kids in Palestine, or how ’bout Vietnam?
Would Jesus bomb the Atheists, the Muslims or the Jews?
I want you to ask yourself, “Well, what would Jesus do?”

Would Jesus Vote Republican, or would it be Democrat?
Would he be chanting four more years, or wear a MAGA hat?
Would Jesus run for president, or dictator, or worse?
Would Jesus be the pastor of his own mega church?

Who would Jesus bomb?
Tell me, who would Jesus bomb?
Would it be kids in Palestine, or how ’bout Vietnam?
Would Jesus bomb the Atheists, the Muslims or the Jews?
I want you to ask yourself, “What would Jesus do?”

Would Jesus build a border wall? Would Jesus drive a tank?
Would Jesus own an arsenal? Would Jesus run a bank?
Would Jesus feel safe in his skin if he came to your town?
Would you still believe in Jesus if you found out he was brown?

Who would Jesus bomb?
Tell me, who would Jesus bomb?
Would it be kids in Palestine, or how ’bout Vietnam?
Would Jesus bomb the Atheists, the Muslims or the Jews?
I want you to ask yourself, “What would Jesus do?”
I want you to ask yourself, “What would Jesus do?”
I want you to ask yourself, “What would Jesus do?”