Anguish August Friedrich Albrecht Schenck |
I want to banish from the planet those who kill in the name of religion. For that matter, all those who kill in the name of some -ism or dogma.
I want to be angry at the damage done to Notre-Dame de Paris and a thousand other places of worship in recent months.
But I know it would change not a thing. Evil and violence will continue, my rage against such things would amount to no more than a small drop of water in a mighty sea.
All I can do is make the space around me pleasant, treating those I come into contact with every day with respect and a smile.
There are days I feel like the ewe in Herr Schenck's painting above, anguish over things lost, bright new beginnings destroyed by the caprice of Man or Nature.
I want to rant, but I know, I believe, that all things happen for a reason. All will become clear in due course.
Though patience is required, patience is hard.
But I try...
O Thou Great Being! what Thou art,
Surpasses me to know;
Yet sure I am, that known to Thee
Are all Thy works below.
Thy creature here before Thee stands,
All wretched and distrest;
Yet sure those ills that wring my soul
Obey Thy high behest.
Sure, Thou, Almighty, canst not act
From cruelty or wrath!
O, free my weary eyes from tears,
Or close them fast in death!
But, if I must afflicted be,
To suit some wise design,
Then man my soul with firm resolves,
To bear and not repine!
Prayer, Under The Pressure Of Violent Anguish
-Robert Burns
Patience is required, while the actors are hunted down, and the hunters make sure they have the right prey.
ReplyDeleteLike I said, patience is hard.
DeleteYep!
DeleteI know you've been there.
DeleteRight there with you Sarge. Another fire in a French church on Easter Sunday, in the town of Eyguières in southern France...... hmmmm. Arya Stark provides a good example of list making neh?
ReplyDeleteYes, yes she does.
DeleteAgreed with Scott, it's no good to shoot ourselfs in the foot again. Look for the right enemy. Not create a foe from a friend. Expose them, try them in the courts. And show all what they are after, and why, shine the light of day on them, and maybe that will render them impotant.
ReplyDeleteGood idea Jim b.
DeleteI try to find a productive outlet for my anger when this happens. I figure we are like those old pressure cookers. If we don't have a vent, we might pop. I've got some nicely cleaned hardware now, that probably hadn't been cleaned in a year. But it's ready to go to work now, and I feel a bit better. Slide stop was a bit harder to reinstall than I remember. I think my hands are getting a bit less practice than before.....
ReplyDeleteIndeed!
DeletePatience requires a lot of strength. Strength of patience in the face of stupidity, ignorance, evil, lying, cheating, is very, very hard.
ReplyDeleteOh dear yes, it's very hard with those factors thrown in.
DeleteUncontrolled rage is never a good thing, however, this comment from Instapundit a day or two ago I thought interesting.
ReplyDelete"It’s more than that. When you call perfectly reasonable things — like being upset over an Easter church massacre — “far right,” you convince people that “far right” maybe isn’t so bad."
If people who are angered, irritated, annoyed, upset, or just plain pissed off at people that deface/blowup/burn churches etc (or just where a hat indicating their desire to make their country great) are "Far Right". While the people who actually commit the crimes are just protesting injustice. Well then.....
wear, not where dang it!
DeleteThe progs are trying to set the agenda, they're painting a picture for those too stupid to think for themselves.
DeleteThose a-holes with their "Far Right" "alt-right" nonsense are absolutely clueless, but their mindless minions don't know that.
Oh, I just ranted a little...
I knew what you meant, the Ogf on the other hand...
DeleteWhat juvat said is a reason so many prior lefties are migrating... to the right. Once the crazy-crazies take over, the somewhat crazies are beginning to see the truth.
DeleteThe loons are certainly coming to the forefront. (Yeah, lookin' at you AOC.)
DeletePatience, yes. Quitting, no.
ReplyDeleteRoger that.
DeletePatience leads to a better sight picture...
What STxAR said. Productive outlet.
ReplyDeleteI have to console myself that some things are just out of my hands. So what CAN I do? Clean a gun. Reload some ammo. Maybe just mow the lawn. At least a task I can complete. Be prepared and ready--"for that day".
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=voPmfT09jlg
Then take a break and go see what other Chanter's have to say.
It's all you can do.
DeleteSo, the question should be asked. Which is more dangerous, the mega-group of bomb throwers or those who refuse to correctly label them?
ReplyDeleteMy feeling, those who refuse to correctly label the evil are more evil.
Hear me out.
When you have an infection in your foot, and you go to a doctor, if he says something stupid like, "I don't know why there's an infection in your foot, look over here at that person who drives a truck..." then, though the infection may be stupid-evil (after all, it's trying to kill you, or at least eat your foot) the doctor is truly evil for not correctly labeling and attacking the infection, or even trying to find the source of the infection in order to attack and potentially cure the infection.
GAAAAHHHHH!
We have congresscritters who are openly supporting non-citizens over citizens. We have congresscritters who are openly attacking an ethnic or political group or two or three, whether it be Jews or White People of European Descent, or People Who Think For Themselves. We have congresscritters who openly call for impeachment and derailment of the most investigated President ever, who we found so far is a kind-of bland loudmouth who happens to be far more correct than incorrect.
We have actors and actresses who are trying to push bad, dangerous or even deadly agendas because it gets them publicity. Whether it's some tart who is married to some royal brat (sorry, Harry, your good work as an officer has now been offset by your negative actions since, you dingus!) or payola for their stupid brats, or pushing ceramic eggs and weird food to cure things that an African Witchdoctor would look at said actor/actress crosseyed and walk away shaking his head at the actor/ess' stupidity.
We have, in this country, over 300 attacks on Christian churches, and attacks on Jewish Synagogues, that disappear in the news because of the religion or ethnicity or race of the perpetrator. Same with murders. Same with businesses being attacked.
And when did it become illegal to say "No, I won't do that" as a businessman/woman?
We have parents who are torturing and medically experimenting on their children because child is uninformed.
We have people who should be parents and want violence to end and killings to stop who actively seek out murder and support said murder.
Heinlein's 'Crazy Times' are here.
My beloved wife can't take the news anymore. When some dingus talking head tries to tell us something patently false, it hurts her head. Presidential approval is low? Then why are his rallies getting more people than most sports-ball teams during a playoff?
So, yeah, make sure your basic loadout is ready, your guns are clean and loaded, and stay away from bad places. Hug your wife, tell your children you love them, pet the cats, work or live in your house and yard, and stay vigilant. Stay ready. I fear the storm is coming. I fear the world is ending, and what bright shiny moment of achievement we have reached will be forever more. And I hope that my pessimism is wrong.
Remember:
DeleteAnd ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. Matthew 24:6 (KJV)
I don't worry for me, as I can take care of myself (well, as long as I have enough Benadryl...) I worry for my sweet wife.
DeleteThe warrior is always concerned for those he/she is sworn to defend.
DeleteI don't mind going down in a personal Gotterdamerung, and that's how I always 'died' at war, tossing myself in some Forlorn Hope to stop some enemy push. I just want to take a death-guard with me. At least 5 would be a good start.
DeleteJust... can't afford to lose it until she's gone. Then, well, best left unsaid.
Roger that.
DeleteIMHO, the left is celebrating, quietly, the fact that this causes us to look at people groups differently. In Church there is a sacred assembly - the Bride of Christ. Just like you look at and assess the people in the boarding lounge, we now look at the "new people" desiring to gather together and be edified, whilst worshiping the Risen Christ. Martyrs, they are. Shouldn't be so in the twenty-first century.
ReplyDeleteAny enclave the socialist can create is good for the cause. No outside communication, no common ground, most importantly, no trust.
They seek to divide us, we must stand firm.
Delete