Giddy apocalyptic Revelationists seem to be reveling in today’s date, 06/06/06. Given the average lifespan in the U.S., this truly is a once in a lifetime experience except for that handful that were around on this date in 1906 or may live to see 2106. What exactly is supposed to happen on this day that (when one stretches the imagination) coincides with the biblical mark of the beast is unclear. I personally regard it as rather ominous when I stop to think about who is occupying the White House. Has anyone actually seen any documentation to refute that at birth ‘W’ was originally dubbed ‘Damien’? Has anyone really gotten a good look at his scalp?
As if the real world isn’t scary enough, we seem to have an insatiable appetite for the bizarre and the spooky. If Al-Qaeda isn’t enough to worry about, let’s dig up some of the most misunderstood scripture that’s ever been written and see if we can’t frighten ourselves with that. The doomsayers have been calling for the end of the world for thousands of years but they just never seem to be able to pull it off. Maybe, finally, this is the horrifying eschaton we’ve all been dying for (the pun is intended).
I would encourage any of those who are really buying into this nonsense to go proclaim their apocalyptic tripe to the people of Darfur. I’m guessing that they will find a rather receptive audience there, filled with people who have truly stared evil in its ugly face. Oh, but wait! I forgot! Jesus didn’t die for the Africans, he died for the… Well, who did he die for? And who is he coming back to get? As messed up as things are right now, perhaps he’s decided to postpone until June 06, 6006.
Through all the hype over this 666 thing, I heard a newsman mention that today is the 62nd anniversary of D-Day. One of my all time favorite films Saving Private Ryan is centered around the events of that day. I can't imagine the fear and intrepitation in the minds of those young men, many facing battle for the first time, as they approached the beaches.
ReplyDeleteThis last memorial day Tamara and I visited my mothers grave. As a wife of a soldier she was quaified to be buried in the national cemetery. As we drove in we were greeted with a sea of American Flags, one planted at each grave. It was a sobering reminder of the lives lost in the defense of freedom, mostly lost on foreign shores. It reminded me of a statement made by Collin Powell:
Powell then said, "We have gone forth from our shores repeatedly over the last hundred years and we’ve done this as recently as the last year in Afghanistan and put wonderful young men and women at risk, many of whom have lost their lives, and we have asked for nothing except enough ground to bury them in, and otherwise we have returned home to seek our own, you know, to seek our own lives in peace, to live our own lives in peace. But there comes a time when soft power or talking with evil will not work where, unfortunately, hard power is the only thing that works."
Just as the graves overlooking Pearl Harbor are a reminder of the cost of being unprepared, the graves overlooking the beaches of Normandy are a small measure of the cost of failing to understand the true nature of the "gathering storm." Whatever their politics, these young men gave their "last full measure of devotion". It is only fitting to honor their sacrifice.