Peace

Vlad Tepes, Champion of Christian Peace

"If there is to be peace in the world,
There must be peace in the nations.
If there is to be peace in the nations,
There must be peace in the cities.
If there is to be peace in the cities,
There must be peace between neighbors.
If there is to be peace between neighbors,
There must be peace in the home.
If there is to be peace in the home,
There must be peace in the heart.” 

                                        Lao-tse

All governments employ authoritarian tactics, even those we like.

The Chinas. The Russias. The British Empires.

The Israels. The Saudi Arabias.

And yes. Even the saintly USAs.

All.

All have their Gulags, their Guantanamos, and their Gazas.

All have their Shea's Rebellions, their Tiananmen Squares, and their Yemens.

All deploy their jack boots and dispense their tear gas.

All have their killing fields.

Cruel Vlad Tepes impales on our behalf,

Christian Europe counted on him to hold back the hordes.

Else anarchy will reign, barbarians will invade.

Else empire will fall.

All pitch towards abuse and sadism, revolution and vengeance.

All presage the rise of another oppressive regime.

All end in the sinkhole of despair.

We tolerate them provided they accommodate us,

Til our time comes

The boot on the neck keeps the other boot off ours,

Til it comes to our own neck.

The oppressed bide their time till they become the oppressors and thus, once again oppressed.

The tally of peace is outnumbered, its ledger is chaos.We are all adrift in the basket of hypocracies.

The citizens understand this, beneath layers of self-righteousness.

The authoritarian regime is sanctified by its people.

Law and order is a temple of war supplications.

We fear the war lords in our neighborhoods and prefer the barons in our cities.

“Keep the peace,” we pray. “Peace at all cost.”

For there is no peace in our hearts.