Is this it?
Is this Armageddon?
Where’s my Nostradamus?
In the Bible it says something to the effect that the final war will be within men’s and women’s minds.
It looks like it might be beginning.
Out of the rubble and smoke of the destroyed buildings is coalescing two sides of a conflict: those who want war and those who don’t.
And it seems that whatever side you’re on is determinant on the level of development you’ve reached.
No doubt there is a consensus that justice should be served. Even the Pope agreed that those responsible for the attacks should be brought to bear.
But in regard to what should be done after this is accomplished, there is a split. There is a cut in the corpus callosum of the American mind, and the two halves of the collective consciousness are speaking different languages.
Some say that after we torch Afghanistan and kill Osama, that we should keep on trucking and squeeze the world until we feel enough terrorists are dead.
At the same time, others argue that we should refrain from a global siege. Most of the OSU students whom I’ve talked to are of this mind.
Unfortunately, the overwhelming majority of those within our government think war is the better idea.
Two sides of a conflict.
Those who want justice. And those who want more.
Those who would choose the most peaceful resolution possible. And those who back militarized action.
And these two sides are really two different states of consciousness.
Those who want war already have war in mind.
Those who want peace, don’t.
And it appears imminent that we will be embroiled in a conflict whose catchwords are “prolonged” and “extended,” as our leaders speak with one raw voice of conflagration. Where are their heads at?
These falling dominoes, in a world so precariously interdependent and frustrated could lead us to some all-encompassing global event.
And the situation of late does conjure the idea of doomsday, so expected during the changes of the millennium and still fresh in our minds.
So is this Armageddon?
As we label evil, and are labeled such ourselves, perhaps it is not so much us or them. Rather, the intent of further bloodshed and the animal consciousness behind it that shadows the good.
Of course situations will arise and conflict will happen, but it is the way a situation is responded to and how it is handled, that has the greater effect on the future.
So, whether you call it level of consciousness or degree of evolution, good and evil are found both in the Mideast and the Midwest.
On television I look past the Taliban at the Afghanis and I wonder what they think of us. Whether those who don’t know us, hate us. They look so different, yet mirror us. They are also finding themselves being pulled by an undertow of imminent conflict out to deep water. I wish them no harm.
And if this war is the one, what side are you on?
What do you think?
Bob Paschen III is a senior in English. He can be reached for comment at [email protected].
