Western bankruptcy

On looking out for one's country's best interests

Virtually all countries have something good about them. In fact, name a country, and if I know anything worthwhile about it I shall probably be able to name one good thing about them.

The U.S., for instance, has a laudable tradition for innovation, self-sufficiency and even freedom of speech  - real or perceived. There is also a spirit of innovation in the U.S. that is nothing short of admirable. What I admire most about the U.S. currently, however, is the absolutely stunning growth of authentic Catholicism in the country - often referred to as traditionalism due to the diabolically disoriented times in which we find ourselves. I have met many American traditionalists and I am often humbled by the joy they display and the hope the inspire, and to think we have communities of them sprouting up all over the country gives me some hope that maybe not all is lost over there.

Sweden, for its part, has a population which is very superficially friendly, so a visitor coming to Sweden will meet pretty much only friendly folks - those that engage in conversation anyway. People in this country allow emotions to drive the debate, instead of reason, which of course has its downsides, but one of its few upsides is that for instance, we do not (yet) have euthanasia. However, when it does come to Sweden I fear it will be in a vastly more aggressive form than we have in other countries for the aforementioned reason. Then we have the 'allemansrätt' laws, which allow people to access private lands so long as they do not disturb the landowners, such that the whole population can enjoy much of the beautiful nature that we have in this country. It's what they had in England pre-protestant revolt, if my historical understanding serves me well.

There is too much good about Italy for me to even begin narrowing it down. China, for its part, has pride in its own culture and history - real or perceived - and we have to admit that no matter how ruthless the Chinese have been, they have managed to get more people out of poverty than could have been envisioned 3 generations ago. Of course, it is not worth destroying churches and killing hundreds of millions of unborn and infants, but we cannot argue that at least they have found an economic model which seems to ensure that the economic initiative of the globe will be Eastwards for some time to come. There also seems to be a genuinely-accepted principle in China that interfering in other countries' internal affairs is a bad thing, and this is a principle they actually seem to honour, as opposed to the Western countries which speak of human rights and freedom, but merely as weapons with which to bludgeon countries they propagate against more than principles they accept or encourage.

"What does this have to do with looking out for one's contry's best interests?", you might well be asking. Well, it has to do with Mother Russia.

You see, it too has much to admire and perhaps most admirable is how much value-for-money Russia seems to get out of its technicians and engineers. Another thing no less admirable is the Russia insistence on self-reliance and independence. In fact, Vladimir Putin has labeled Russia's independence "axiomatic": Russia would cease to be Russia were it not an independent and autonomous country. This is integral to Russia's 'goodness'.

Sadly, most of Europe does not seem to share this kind of view. For instance, we see much of Eastern Europe shaking off the chains of the Sovient Union only to shackle itself first to the E.U.'s chains, and then to be lackey's of the U.S. whatever threat this poses to their own security or economic interests. Western Europe, on the other hand, is occupied territory and has been such since World War II, though it seems to be something not to be mentioned in polite company, and seems to revel in this occupation.

Anyway...It may seem somewhat enigmatic that pretty much the closest thing we have to a Christian nation today - Russia (although that says more about the sad state of former Christendom than it does about Russia's virtues) - would choose to forge an alliance with communist China which has outlawed Christianity. Russia has built over 10,000 churches since the collapse of communism; China demolishes churches, frequently and gleefully, as often as they can.

It is probably not until we consider that Russia attempted to make peace and friendship with the West, and was brutally shunned, humiliated and ransacked that we begin to see why Russia felt that the only way to turn was Eastwards. It is not for a lack of trying that Russia is not on good terms with the West; there is simply too much at stake for the political elite in Europe to drive the narrative that Russia is an enemy. Russia, for its part, tired of trying, and decided to take its economic interests elsewhere, and it is turning out well for them.

This topic is the debale on "Bear & Dragon", an episode of the best show on TV - Russia Today's "Crosstalk" programme hosted by Peter Lavelle. It often has very engaging discussions and most of the time one can learn something worthwhile.

For anybody wanting to learn why Russia has drifted closer to China, and why it has drifted away from the West - through no initiative of its own, one hastens to add - this episode might well prove to be an eye-opener.

What one has to remember as well is that with Russia now attempting to integrate itself more with the East and the South, the barrier of the West towards both Russia and China, as well as their trade partners increases. Trade creates partnerships and relationships, and done well and with respect - which both Russia and China do much better than the West which tries to...

Acknowledgning Christianity's true enemies in the modern world would kind of help...

Part of winning a war, or even a battle - perhaps the most important part - is knowing who the enemy is. When someone comes at you wielding an axe, it is easier to assume the person is more your enemy than say, the manager of your hostel, no matter how bad he treats you.

It would be difficult to imagine that the manager of your hostel would want you dead given that you think he needs your money for his establishment, even though he has been trying to kick you out ever since he took over management. That bitter taste in your morning porridge may wreak of chlorine or cyanide, but you are probably going to dismiss it. "Pouring chlorine or cyanide into my morning porridge is something he said he would never do",  you convince yourself.

That little intro brings us to a piece which ran on Russia Today, or more specifically, RT America - the American version. I much prefer the international version because it is far more serious in its work, and employs far more serious journalists rather than simply slim and young women, although I suppose when in Rome...

The piece is the one below:

It is about Christians who were killed in Libya for their faith, by ISIS or people claiming to be ISIS anyway, whose mass grave has now been uncovered - or at least found. In the piece they are labelled Ethiopians, but I remember them being Egyptians and much of the talk in the piece ends up being about Coptic Christians in Egypt anyway, so I don't know whether it is RT America's  young slim women who have made an error or whether the victims referred to were actually Ethiopians or whether they were Egyptians. I digress...

The debate then comes around to something I have often mentioned myself: Namely, that people who claim to be Christians in the U.S. often end up supporting wars in the Middle East whose one consistent outcome has been depriving Christians of their ancestral homelands.These so-called Christians are mentioned as the biggest pro-war faction, which is hardly a controversial opinion, to be fair. The evangelicals in particular are pointed out, again, not in any way unfairly.

The journalist makes the case that it is probably about ignorance; that the U.S. public does not know much about what happens in the world, that it has been duped by the media and political establishment to support wars it otherwise would not do. There is probably some truth to that.

Much more to the point though, is the fact that Christianity is not the biggest religion in the U.S., but actually zionism is, or ameri-zionism, which I suppose is a mix of zionism and americanism in which no number of victims are too great if the U.S. does the killing or zionism is the cause. Most so-called Christians in the U.S., when push comes to shove, would rather support Talmudist Jews who hate Christ and hate everything about the Church that Christ founded than they would support Christians in the Middle East, Arabs or otherwise. That is the cold hard fact that most people do not acknowledge. 

In fact, as someone put it recently, Americans would rather give up Alaska than give up support for the zionist state of Israel.The particular appeal of zionism is that it appeals to no particular faith: One can be a zionist with little or not faith in God, and in fact atheist zionists are just as bloodthirsty as their 'religious' peers. Most zionists in the U.S. are not even Jews, but people who claim to be Christians. Of course, zionism is a heresy, so no Christian can hold to it without apostasising.

I wish this were only an evangelical problem, but years of listening to Catholic Answers has taught me otherwise, as have many conversations with people who call themselves Christians, even Catholics, in Sweden. I am often tempted to ask them: "If Judaism is so swell, why don't you just convert to it and leave Christianity to those who follow in the footsteps of the early Christians, the earliest of whom converted from Judaism to Christianity, often at great peril?" One day, perhaps in a bout of anger, I shall ask that question.

That evangelicanism is a creation of the devil is a topic I might have time to pursue in future. For now, suffice it to write that evangelicanism is entirely devoid of intellectual substance, so it should surprise us little that they will claim to care for Christians while supporting regimes which kill them and starting wars which are sure to leave Christianity worse off than it was before. The devil is smart that way, in that he can use our intellectual and moral blindness to fight for evil in the name of an imaginary good.

In the meantime, it bears remembering that the very same people who wage wars in the Middle East - ostensibly against dictators or Islamists - are the very same people who attack Christianity in the formerly Christian lands of Europe. It would indeed, take a very massive mental disconnect, to believe that these people want Christianity expunged from Europe but have it thriving in the Middle East.  That these same peope - and the zionists who support them - have been arming the same Islamists who they claim to fight, even in the face of clear evidence that these Islamists want to destroy every last shred of Christianity in the region, is also worth remembering. Let us recall that with the possible exception of Iraq, the U.S. and al-Qaeda have fought on the same side of every war that has taken place in the Middle East over the past 20 years or so - whether that be Libya, Yemen or Syria.

It is sad that I have to contextualise my piece with the following clarification but, given times are as they are I must: I am no friend...

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