It just seemed natural that the thing to come after proxy war of imperial aggression for us is direct war of imperial aggression. The other day, I was shown this quote from an episode of M*A*S*H:

Capt. Benjamin Franklin ‘Hawkeye’ Pierce: War isn’t Hell. War is war, and Hell is Hell. And of the two, war is a lot worse.

Father Francis Mulcahy: How do you figure that, Hawkeye?

Hawkeye: Easy, Father. Tell me, who goes to Hell?

Mulcahy: Sinners, I believe.

Hawkeye: Exactly. There are no innocent bystanders in Hell. War is chock full of them - little kids, cripples, old ladies. In fact, except for some of the brass, almost everybody involved is an innocent bystander.

There are no innocent bystanders in Hell.

While on the subject, I am reminded of another old eschatological Internet classic:

is this hell?

in what sense?

the present moment is both eternal and painful.

in Hell, there is relief in utter helplessness. here, our actions have consequences for both ourselves and others.

truly, it is worse

Sorry to post so doomfully on the blog today. There is still immense value in acting in solidarity with our neighbors and moving with grace and patience and noble intention. It just feels small in the face of the immense violence American empire commits in our name, this afternoon.

Old friends, we have been owed a better world for so long, and what an utterly irredeemable one we have built in its stead.