In Mexico, there was a huge outburst of violence after the United States coordinated with the Mexican government to take out El Macho, a cartel lord that ran the biggest operation in Mexico. The biography on El Macho is interesting and extremely violent. After one of the largest government crackdowns, the cartels were looking for a new leader, and El Macho rose in the ranks because of his willingness to be more brutal than the others looking to fill the power vacuum. It is said that to be a part of his gang, he sometimes required cannibalism!

Johnny Harris is one of my favorite investigative reporters to follow. He recently did a piece on fascism, the history of it, and its current implications in the rise of fascism. He details how both Mussolini and Hitler first rose in their ranks, in part, due to their willingness to be violent. And in their violence, they inspired other men who were down on their luck to be violent. Meanwhile, those unwilling to be violent were silenced or intimidated.

The book Debt: The First Five Thousand Years by David Graeber gives an in depth survey of the last 5,000 years and how debt has related to the human experience. Graeber shows how debt has been fundamental to our understanding of ourselves as people. Debt has often correlated with violence. And the most violent of people often set the rules for how the financial system plays out. It is those who are willing to be most violent who own the money, and it is the nonviolent who pay the price of debt.

President Trump, in an announcement following the initial bombings on Iran, said that he believes there will be US military casualties, as it is a natural consequence of war. This, of course, is a war deemed important and created by the ruling class of the United States and not the actual citizens who will have to fight in the war they have created for us.

Violence is more of a temporary power than a lasting one. The men spoken of in the annals of history who have used violence for their gain are not currently followed. No one worships Napoleon, claims allegiance to Alexander the Great, or treats George Washington like a god. No, those who are still followed are often those who promoted peace.

Jesus, who I follow, proclaims blessed are the peacemakers. His followers are to be ministers of reconciliation. Trials and violence are the birthing pains of the world that is coming to clearer view, the fullness of the meeting of heaven and earth. The responsibility of the follower of Jesus is not to strike the violent offenders but to turn the other cheek. After all, even facing death, the Christian has nothing to fear, nothing to lose, and everything to gain.

The world has always belonged to violent men. But eternity belongs to those who cling to peace and goodwill, sharing love and forgiveness even with their enemies.

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