Non-intervention or intervention

My take on Syria, I have two thoughts here:

As an American, I don't believe America should get involved miltarily here or anywhere. America doesn't need another war and history has shown military interventions are bloody disasters. We don't know who's good or bad in Syria's civil war. We don't know for certain who did the chemical attack. Launching those cruise missles was a mistake. And going to war in Syria could have widespread ramifications like possibly starting World War III. So, I'm an non-interventionist when it comes to foreign policy and  believe that seeking friendship with every nation possible is the key to a safer and freer world.

As a Kingdom of God person, I believe the church in America as well as the world should get involved in that war-torn country. We should do what we can to alleviate the suffering of those affected by this civil war. We can do that through medical aid, food, clothing, and sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We should support the churches and pastors in Syria. Maybe we can even help rebuild destroyed towns or homes. In other words, the church should be doing everything possible to show the love of Christ to those people. I believe the Gospel is the only way for true peace, hope, and liberty to that region and the world.

So where does that leave us? Should we intervene or not? This depends on the assumptions you have.

It's important to note that the kingdoms of the world and the Kingdom of Christ are radically different from each other. If we lose that distinction, we might be asking the wrong questions and getting the wrong answers.

The kingdoms of this world will use brute force on people to get its way. The Kingdom of God will show love to people so that they can see Jesus.

Crossing the chasm

With the protests that happened over President Trump and his policies, the violent reaction at UC Berkerly over a guy named Milo, and calls for secession from the United States from California (calexit), is there a chance that this country can heal its divide?

In all honesty, I don't know. Maybe secession is the answer to this problem. Maybe it is. Maybe it's not. Can anyone seek common ground anymore? I don't know.

The government as well as the people so divided deeply over everything, it seems like a chasm has created at least two different nations in the US.

I can't tell you of any political solution that could work to heal this rift. Honestly, I don't think there's anything humanly possible to make this country work anymore.

But I can tell you this:

“With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” -- Matthew 19:26

If you are looking for any solution that we can come up with, then you will be severly disappointed.

It's within human nature to cause divisions and violence among themselves. Scripture even mentions this. For example, some of the works of the flesh are dissensions, hatred, contentions, outbursts of wrath (Galatians 5:20).

However, within the nature of God, it's totally different. The some of the fruits of the Spirit (God's Spirit) is love, joy, peace, patience, and kindness (Galatians 5:22).

So, you can see a difference here. If we build our lives on the foundation of God rather than on the foundation of zealous nationalism or social justice, we might be able to bridge the chasm.

If we build our lives on Jesus Christ, we will be able to tear down the walls that seperate us (Ephesians 2:11-22 and Galatians 3:26-28). If we build our lives on the world's ideologies, then we will erect barriers that will continue to seperate us.

If we have a common ground that we know we are all created in God's image, then who knows what can happen. I believe things would be radically different in this country.

The world and its politics is meant to divide and kill. But God's aim is meant to unite and heal.

Collateral damage

More civilians were killed in a raid recently while trying to take out terrorists. This time, it involved an eight-year-old girl that was killed as collateral damage in Yemen. Her brother was already killed by drones before. He too was collateral damage. Their father, Anwar al-Awlaki, who was also killed by drones back in 2011 because of his ties to Al-Qaeda. Whatever you feel about this, there's one thing we should do: leave the children out of it.

What is the US doing in Yemen? I understand the idea of taking the fight to the terrorists, which sometimes leads to less than ideal circumstances. (Unfortunately, one American soldier was killed in the operation.) I also believe terrorism is an actual threat.

But what about the collateral damage that we are doing? How many more non-combatants need to be killed, which anger young people to become terrorists. They attack us. We attack them. And also why are we going to a country that doesn't pose as a threat? Why are getting involved with a conflict over there? The cycle continues. This needs to stops. America needs to focus on its own soil to build up this country rather than going abroad and killing innocent people as collateral damage in its quixotic quest to eradicate every terrorist.

If we want to keep the country safe, then build a fortress out of America. Pull the troops everywhere and bring them home to protect the borders and coasts. If America wants, then build multiple walls and fortifications. Better vet people before they come into this country. Also, do what you can to have successful and friendly relationships with as many nations as possible. Be at peace with as many people as you can. I don't care.

Just stop going abroad and making enemies around the world by accepting collateral damage of innocent people, especially children, as a way of life when taking out terrorists. Don't you think the terrorists are surrounding themselves on purpose with women and children so it looks bad every time the US strikes? This pragmatism just makes America a target for retaliation.

Wars can't be on autopilot

According to a recent column from Antiwar.com, the drone assassination program seems to be currently on autopilot. It seems that this may be the case since there's no current CIA director. The CIA is in charge of the drone program. The one that Trump picked as CIA Director, Mike Pompeo, hasn't been confirmed yet. But how can the CIA conduct drone strikes without a director? It seems that they are just doing it anyway.

Over the weekend, there were two drone strikes in Yemen. This recent drone strike killed three alleged Al-Qaeda operatives in Yemen. Though it's not confirmed, the US is suspected in the making the strikes. If it's from the US government, this would be the first drone strikes under President Trump. Of course, using drones to kill enemies isn't new. It was done frequently under the Obama administration.

While drones may save the lives of soldiers conducting a mission, the problem with them is that there have been civilians killed in these attacks. In other words, collateral damage. Because of this, people around the world, especially in the areas we use them, don't like the United States. If the United States wants to stop being hated around the world, it needs take a second look at the use of drones.

In Trump's inaugural speech, he said that he won't try to impose the will of America on other nations and it will be America First. If he believe this, then he needs to put the brakes on the drones.

The president must use caution before using these things. It cannot be the go-to device when dealing with a problem.

At this point, President Trump can't be blamed completely since he just took office less than a week ago. However, if the drone attacks continue, or continue as they have been, then the buck stops with him and he needs to be held accountable.

Killing human lives cannot be done on autopilot. What a drone sees in its sights is people. They could be civilians and innocent lives. And if there are terrorists or enemies, there might be non-combatants that surround these cowards. When the drones kills children and families, then hatred builds towards the US and creates more terrorists as a reaction to these killings. The cycle will continue until we really take the drone warfare off autopilot in our thinking.

This isn't a video game. We can't treat people as some expendable pixels. Taking a human life shouldn't be taken lightly. It should be used as the last resort if all other peaceful or restrained means have failed.  

An opportunity

To those who advocate peace and liberty,

We have an opportunity now to encourage President Trump to pursue a path of peace and non-intervention.

Based on Trump's inaugural address, the President seemed to be more focused on building the country up rather than imposing the US's will on other nations.

And Trump has hinted that he's not interested in military adventurism and nation building during his campaign. He even criticized the Iraq War and George W Bush for going in and leaving a disaster.

He also seems to be skeptical of the military industrial complex, such as questioning the cost of the F35 program. And he seems to be skeptical of the intelligence community.

If this is true, then it's an encouraging start to roll back the Empire. Of course, there's a lot of work to be done, such as ending the spying apparatus, drone warfare, wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, the bases and troops worldwide, foreign entanglements, Guantanamo Bay, and the military industrial complex. The list goes and on and on.

The path to peace and liberty is hard work and there will be set backs along the way. But the point is to keep forward and speaking out in spite of these possible obstacles and set backs.

Of course, we need to stand against this President if he pursues a path of destruction and carnage. For now, we an have opportunity.

There might be deep reservations we have about this new president. I know I do. But based on the things regarding foreign policy and war, we might have an opportunity to seek a common ground with the President to pursue peace and prosperity.

He distrusts the mainstream media. And chances are, you as well. And since we might share that common thread, we can reach out to him easier and get his ear more to pursue peace.

Only time will tell whether President Trump will continue to road towards Empire and destruction or will change course towards peace and life.

I pray that peace will prevail in this nation and in the heart of this new President.

Sincerely,

The Praying Peacenik

An Unlikely Reminder

One of the coolest things I seen today was when I looked up at the sky, I saw cloud shaped like a cross. It then morphed into what it looked like a dove. This reminded me of Who is important and to keep my focus on Him.

Now I don't go looking for signs or any of that. It just reminded me the only peace and hope we can find in this war-torn, divided world is in God.

Once you experience that peace and hope, you can share that with this world. And who knows what will happen when others accept this transcendant peace and hope.

As a lover of liberty and a follower of Christ, this freedom and hope is a freedom that no words can explain.

What we are looking for to make this world a better place cannot be found in any government or any political philosophy. People's hearts have to change, one person at a time. Then, the world will change one step at a time.

Merry Christmas and God bless you all.

Propaganda according to whom

According to Dictionary.com, the definition of propaganda is this:

propaganda

[prop-uh-gan-duh]
noun

1. information, ideas, or rumors deliberately spread widely to help or harm a person, group, movement, institution, nation, etc.

2. the deliberate spreading of such information, rumors, etc.

If this is the definition, then everyone engages in or disseminates propaganda. Not all propaganda is harmful. It can be helpful like Public Service Announcements. Also, not all propaganda is false. It can be truthful but it's slanted to favor something over another, such as political propaganda, religious propaganda, or advertising. But the word has a negative connotation. And in this post, I'll use the negative connotation.

The mainstream media is making assertions about Liberty-minded websites, such as Ron Paul Institute, Lew Rockwell.com, Antiwar.com as Russian propaganda. But the big problem is there's no proof of this. This assertion is very divisive and ridiculous. The only propaganda that these site disseminate for the most part is liberty and peace. 

But why listen to a media who was completely wrong about the Trump phenomena? Not saying I'm pro-Trump or anything. I'm not pro-Russia either. I just didn't want to see a hot war going the US and Russia. That would have been a disaster for the world. For now, I can breathe a sigh of relief and thank God this isn't going to happen in the near future. And if standing for peace and life rather than death and destruction is putting out propaganda, then guilty as charged.

I rather avoid wars than to start them.  And the media seemed they were trying to start wars with Russia by putting out anti-Russian hit pieces. Again, I'm skeptical of Russia or any government. But it seemed that ad nauseam they were putting out pieces that the Russians were trying to control the US election. With its current setup, there's no way of doing this unless you had people come illegally in this country and stuff the ballots.

The media is very biased and keep discrediting themselves in the process. And the election results made them meltdown and show themselves for what they really are. Who is listening to these people anymore? So who's engaging in propaganda here?

Not to mention, America does put out its own propaganda like Voice of America. Russia engages in its own propaganda like RT.  Or, the Middle East with Al-Jarezza, the UK with BBC, and the list goes on. In others words, every country engages in propaganda.  This proves the point of the definition of the word.

I'm aware that every country does this to some degree or another, which is why I'm skeptical of every media outlet, including liberty-minded sites.

My problem is that the mainstream media seems to be acting like they are above reproach when they pontificate these assertions. They are painting anyone they disagree with as a part of some Kremlin conspiracy. What is this, the 1950s? Come on. This is ridiculous. It's one thing to disagree with someone. It's another to try tarnish someone's reputation as belonging to some nefarious plot. I don't think the individual reporters in the mainstream media belong to a grand plan. (And there are times when the mainstream media is on the right track.) They are just simply told what their bosses want them to report.

Before we assert that liberty minded media as a part of some Kremlin conspiracy, let's look at the mainstream media. Who are their advertisers?  Who are their stakeholders? Who owns them? Once you look into this, you can come to own your conclusions. I have come to mine. If they were honest that they were disseminating the propaganda they are putting out, then I have more respect for them. At least, with the media outlets I mentioned earlier, you know what you're getting. I rather have this rather than someone who pretend they are neutral when they are really not. 

In short, why trust the mainstream media or their crusades against somebody without proof, especially if they have a tarred reputation? Be skeptical of all corporate media and government media. To get to the truth of a matter, you need to try to piece things together from different sources. It's hard work but it's worth it if you love the truth.

In all honesty, the only propaganda I am into broadcasting is peace, liberty, and the words of King Jesus. Amen.