Blessed Are the Peacemakers

by Stephen Lendman

The late historian Gabriel Kolko called the 20th century "the bloodiest in all history." US waged new millennium wars match their ferocity.

Genocidal by any standard. Killing millions. Willfully targeting civilians. Raging in multiple theaters.

On Christmas like every other day. Enriching war profiteers more than ever. Mass slaughter and destruction are good for business.

Benefitting bottom line priorities hugely. Millions of lost lives don't matter. A small price to pay. Calls for turning swords into ploughshares go unheeded.

In his Sermon on the Mount, Christ said: "Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the sons of God."

What would he tell Obama today? A war criminal multiple times over. Waging wars at home and abroad. It bears repeating. On Christmas like every other day.

Obsessed with war. Responsible for horrific human misery. Targeting all countries not in lockstep with Washington rules.

Expressing mumbo jumbo Christmas day rubbish. Audaciously claiming "to reach out to the sick, the hungry, the troubled…"

A man caring only about wealth, power and privilege. Not giving a damn about ordinary people anywhere. At home or abroad.

Treating them like subhumans. Using America's military might to mass slaughter and destroy. In the name of world peace, we're told.

Verboten in Washington. America's war machine never rests. Big Lies try justifying the unjustifiable.

Peace on earth, good will toward everyone is more illusion than reality. Perhaps never more so than today.

With Obama's war machine raging out of control. Militarized police murdering Black youths with impunity.

Fundamental freedoms disappearing in plain sight. Voices for peace going unheeded. America and Israel partnering in each other's high crimes.

On Christmas eve, an Israeli soldier targeted 5-year-old Muhammad Jamal Ubeid. On his way home from school.

Exiting a school bus. Threatening no one. In East Jerusalem's al-Issawiya village. Struck with a rubber-coated steel bullet in his face.

At close range. Injuring him severely. Deliberately. Maliciously. Fracturing a bone below his eye.

Requiring four hours of emergency surgery. A promised Israeli investigation assures whitewash like always.

Pope Francis delivered his second Christmas day message. From the central balcony of St. Peter's Basilica.

Commemorating the Prince of Peace's birthday. "Dear Brothers and Sisters, Happy Christmas," he said.

Addressing long-suffering Iraqis and Syrians. Victims of America's war machine. "May Christmas bring them hope," he said.

"(A)s indeed also…the many displaced persons, exiles and refugees, children, adults and elderly, from this region and from the whole world."

"May indifference be changed into closeness and rejection into hospitality, so that all who now are suffering may receive the necessary humanitarian help to overcome the rigors of winter, return to their countries and live with dignity."

"May…peace (be restored to) the whole Middle East." Ukraine. Other troubled parts of the world.

May "arms" be "transform(ed) into ploughshares. (D)estruction into creativity. (H)atred into love and tenderness."

"Then we will be able to cry out with joy," he said. On Christmas and every day.

Remember 1914's Christmas truce. During WW I. When both sides stopped fighting. Soldiers left their trenches.

Fraternization replaced war. Over half the front lines. Defying orders. Calling "such an attitude…dangerous…(D)estroy(ing the offensive spirit."

Enemies shook hands. Buried their dead. Chattered amiably. Enjoyed calm. Played football.

Unofficial truces occurred other times throughout history. Several times during WW I. Never like Christmas 1914.

Its message loud and clear. War is the enemy of peace. Humanity's scourge. Lawless. Barbaric. Immoral. Merciless. Unjust. Good ones don't exist.

Imagine a world at peace. "Liberte. Egalite. Fraternite." Worldwide. Victor Hugo once called "an idea whose time has come…stronger than all the armies in the world."

What's more important than freedom and justice for all. Peace, everywhere worldwide. A new dawn.

A world fit to live in. Run by leaders who care. It that's not worth working for, what is? On Christmas 2014 and every day.

Stephen Lendman lives in Chicago. He can be reached at lendmanstephen@sbcglobal.net.

His new book as editor and contributor is titled "Flashpoint in Ukraine: US Drive for Hegemony Risks WW III."

http://www.claritypress.com/LendmanIII.html

Visit his blog site at sjlendman.blogspot.com.

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