Consider this a blast on my trumpet.

Again the word of the Lord came to me, saying, “Son of man, speak to the children of your people, and say to them: When I bring the sword upon a land, and the people of the land take a man from their territory and make him their watchman, when he sees the sword coming upon the land, if he blows the trumpet and warns the people, then whoever hears the sound of the trumpet and does not take warning, if the sword comes and takes him away, his blood shall be on his own head. He heard the sound of the trumpet, but did not take warning, his blood shall be upon himself. But he who takes warning will save his life. But if the watchman sees the sword coming and does not blow the trumpet, and the people are not warned, and the sword comes and takes any person from among them, his is taken away in his iniquity, but his blood I will require at the watchman’s hand.”

Ezekiel 33:1-6 (NKJV)

The attacks on Israel by Hamas occurred almost three weeks ago and since then it has been a continuously escalating situation in the region. More and more nations and groups are being drawn into the conflict and, unless something is done to defuse the tension and resolve the issue, it may explode into a very dangerous, potentially nuclear, possibly world-ending battle between not just the small regional players, but the major powers as well–the US (which is already engaging), NATO, Russia, and China.

I do not support any of the belligerents. None of them. Not one. They are all part of the same problem–power-hungry men and women who view violence and force as a means of gaining control over their compatriots and, by extension, neighboring peoples up to and including the entire world. Every one of the nations and groups involved in the current struggle, those struggles already past, and those yet to come, are all cut from the same cloth. The war-wagers are all guilty.

Unfortunately, in many of these countries, the citizenry down to the average man on the street, also salivates at the prospect of “going to war” against another group, society, culture, or nation not his own. As soon as the first shot is fired, the first rocket is launched, or the first aircraft carrier is sunk, the fever strikes and from then on, nothing can dissuade the population from “an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth”, until, as Tevye said in Fiddler on the Roof, “…the whole world is blind and toothless.” Or, as we saw at the end of WWII, entire nations (Germany, Japan) are beaten down and destroyed until they have no will nor means to resist and simply give up, taking whatever punishment is handed to them.

How will this current episode play out? I have no idea, but I am certain that it will not be good for an enormous number of people. Already, thousands on both sides have lost their lives. Thousands more, perhaps millions, will before this ends. It could easily escalate to the point of nuclear war in which billions perish. We have the potential to end all life on Earth, that is, entirely, turning the planet into a radioactive cinder endlessly circling the sun. Considering human nature and its propensity to produce the worst possible scenario in the name of profit and power, I have no doubt that someone, somewhere, would push the button if he thought he could benefit from it.

We need to get over it. We need to make an adjustment in our mindset. We need to learn to live peacefully with our neighbors. We need to stop the power tripping. We need to end the wars before the wars end us.