It is time, I think, that
we must face an awful truth; the world is on the brink of World War.
I’m not a war monger, not
a defeatist, heck I’m not even a pessimist. However, the state of world affairs,
with terror threats and warnings at every turn, we surely must be. And this new
war is a religious one; a Jihad; a new Crusade.
Crusade does not infer this
is a Christian influenced war. Crusades in the past have been started not only
by Christians. It hasn’t really even been started by the West, though those who
have brought it among us would say differently. There was no ideology behind
the start, as near as I can tell.
This “crusade” began
because an ally, a friend, asked us an our other friends to help them out when
a nations greed invaded them. We said yes, along with many other friendly
nations to our friend. The problem arose because of where our friend is; the
Arabian region.
The interesting thing to me
is that the lead nation in the region, Saudi Arabia, was one of the friends that joined in to help our
other friend, Kuwait in their time of need and upon their request. Some
where however, it became about theology. I think I know why.
The region is, undoubtedly
Muslim. To many of the regions Muslims, it is a holy land, sacred and solely
Islam. The problem wasn’t that the goal was to remove a dictator who invaded
another nation; the problem was that the west, and Christianity, were the ones
taking the lead in the battle.
Then we were asked to
stay. And we did. And that has been viewed as another invasion. It certainly
wasn’t intended as such, but it has been viewed that way. And we are still
there almost two decades later. And it has come to be seen as a desecration of
the land, and an affront to the predominant religion of the area, Islam.
The hatred is now so
entrenched, is would take a miracle to calm. But we shall get back to that a
bit later.
So, why do I call it the
dawn of a new World War? Let’s face it; it is even easier now that during the
last World War to bring the battle to the doorstep of our “enemy”. (I use
quotations, because I don’t see them as an enemy, rather someone who has let
blind hatred obscure their vision. I am well aware they see us as an enemy.
Pity) International flights make it a cinch to be at the heart of the enemy’s
domain in a mere few hours. But that isn’t even the real reason for the
conflict going global.
This World War is theology
based; it’s about beliefs, faith and practice thereof. And faith, any faith, is
now international. There are no borders to faith. And there are radicals from
all faiths in all nations. Some control themselves better, others go all out.
And rhetoric is easier to
disseminate too. The internet, cellular phones, satellite phones if you can
afford them, all make it very simple to share your views around the globe instantaneously.
And that makes it very easy to influence others around the globe: to stir intolerance,
hatred and present a call to action.
This new World War we are
facing will have no definitive battle grounds. There will be no borders to
defend, territory to recapture. I highly doubt there will songs written to
commemorate glorious battles, because there will be no glorious battles (if
there could even really be such a thing.) This war will be one of gorilla
warfare, similar to what was faced in Korea and Vietnam, but on a global level. And the atrocities will be
far greater.
This time, our foe will
see no differentiation between civilian and combatant. They will see no
difference between women and children and the military. They will see only the infidels,
the un-pure, the un-believer, the heretic, the blasphemer. They know that to
have the greatest effect, the will need to bring the war to our doorstep; our places
of work, of worship, our playgrounds, our homes.
The other significant
factor is this; they are us. They are Canadians, Americans, British, French,
German, Australian and more. They are of all colours, shapes and sizes. They
look like us and sound like us. And they blend with us naturally; until its
time.
I am not suggesting we
lock everything down. Nor that we lock away every Muslim we know. Those who
would bring this war to our doorstep is a very, very small percentile. Talk to
any Imam, and perhaps one out of one thousand would agree with the radical
faction. The other 999 will out and out condemn the actions as against the
teachings of Islam. And it is, from what I have been taught.
Here is the first thing I am recommending; preparedness.
This is well past the time
where we need to make real plans for Emergencies for our organisations: homes,
workplaces, places of worship and play. Include training for “Active Shooter”
scenarios and terrorist activity, as well as natural disaster (which there isn’t
enough of either, but that is another discussion). Be prepared and know what to
do when some ideological bozo storms into your place looking to “cleanse”. (We
strongly recommend hiding and then getting out as soon as is possible! When a
way is clear.)
Don’t give up living. Once
you do that, the war is lost. But be aware, be prepared and then live it up.
And always be ready to ask for help. Help to plan, to learn to share, and to
recover should something happen.
The second thing we need
to do relates to something I got to earlier; deal with the hatred.
The hatred is generations
and millennia in the making. It stems from ignorant actions of supposed “men of
good conscience” from the middle-ages. Men who thought the “Holy Land” was theirs and theirs alone, in the name of their
God alone. Wrong.
I’m also not a theologian.
While I was raised in one particular faith, that has changed over the years. I
am still a person who has faith, just not a “particular” faith. But I think
there is a reason our three major religions view the same ground as Holy:
God/Jehovah/Allah wants it that way. It’s HIS land. It’s special to HIM. And HE
wanted this for us in common, as common ground and a place for cooperation and
understanding. It’s one of the many
special places on Earth where He connects by His influence to His creations:
Christian, Jew and Muslim alike, as well as all mankind.
So how about this: it’s
time to get the major leaders of faith together, and have the most important “synod”
of our existence. Neutral ground, as by nations, but one of those that has been
touched by HIS hand; where HIS voice and will has been heard.
And then we need to really
talk and really listen to each other. Establish the “Holy Land” as a place free of influence and control from any
one of the faiths that see this as the root and center of their religion, but
as the place where HE reached out to all of us, and as I think HE wants it.
So, TEN33 Inc followers and fans. Get off the stick, and
get planning. I can’t say with 100% certainty that the next Crusade, “World War
III” is on the verge of exploding, but major conflict
is, and many people, innocent people guilty of nothing more than having a faith
contrary to someone else, are going to die. And I know that even a little
preparation for this most heinous of Emergencies/Disasters WILL save lives.
So lets get on it shall
we?!
One last thing. I’m
willing to moderate the suggested synod, if that meets with the Pontiff’s, Rabbi’s
and Caliph’s approval. Neutral ground, and a neutral moderator.
S. Gregory Long, President
TEN33 Inc.
Disaster Preparedness
Consulting
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