Curses and Blessings for the Old Country
I feel joy at home as I look at our domestic politics… but at the same time, I’m heartbroken as I look back at the Middle East and see the worst of either side twiddle their thumbs… dicking around and jockeying for personal advantage and gain…
As innocents on both sides pay for their corruption and self-interested venality… and as the conflict only gets harder and harder to resolve every day…
In frustration, I offer curses and blessings to the universe…
CURSES AND BLESSINGS FOR THE OLD COUNTRY
Curses upon the self-righteous who blind themselves to the humanity of their enemies and turn virtue into vice.
Curses upon the extremists who justify murder in the name of their gods and salt the earth of every path to peace.
Curses upon the thieves who claim what should be shared and sow the seeds of endless strife.
Curses upon the violent who beat plowshares into swords and perpetuate the cycles of vengeance and pain.
Curses upon the leaders who fan the flames of war and profit from the blood of innocents.
Curses upon the zealots who see no humanity in their neighbors and are blinded by ancient and meaningless grudges.
Curses upon the false traditionalists that chain the future to imagined pasts and elevate old grievance over present need.
Curses upon the nationalists who worship land over life and forget that no acreage is worth an innocent life.
Curses upon the diplomats who broker peace with one hand while fueling conflict with the other and profiting as merchants of death.
Curses upon the media who exploit suffering for profit and turn tragedy into monetized spectacle.
Curses upon the educators who teach hate over history and breed the ignorance that fuels the fire and fans its flames.
Curses upon the religious leaders who twist faith into a weapon and trade the sacred for the profane.
Curses upon the indifferent who remain silent in the face of suffering and greenlight the horrors dealt in their name.
Curses upon those who play trading games with civilian lives and use people as pawns on a global chessboard.
Curses upon the ideologues who see only black and white and leave no room for the full spectrum of humanity.
Curses upon the facile who strip others of their humanity and in doing so lose their own.
Curses upon the victims who become oppressors and learn nothing from their suffering.
Curses upon the cynics who disparage the hopes for peace and grease the skids to a perpetual war.
Curses upon the dogmatists who put doctrine over empathy and forsake justice for ideology.
Curses upon those who glorify death and celebrate vicious ends instead of hopeful beginnings.
Curses upon the unhearing who refuse to listen and create walls where doors should be.
Curses upon the ideologues who claim purity and are blind to the stains on their hands.
Curses upon the politicians who speak of peace while waving swords, their hearts as hollow as their words.
Curses upon the warriors who glorify battle and forget the cries of the children left behind.
Curses upon the warmakers who abandon hope for darkness and lead us deeper into the abyss.
Curses upon those who cheapen the cost of life and elevate the value of war.
Curses upon the manipulators who twist truth into poison and sow hatred and confusion instead of love and understanding.
Curses upon the flag worshippers whose loyalty elevates symbols over people and cheapens the value of life.
Curses upon the dividers who sow suffering in pursuit of power and doom us to cycles of hatred.
Curses upon the vengeful who look for more graves to fill and more hearts to break.
Curses upon the hateful who let terror guide their actions and have surrendered to the hopelessness.
Curses upon the tyrants who give up justice for power and bask in the false sunlight of forced reverence.
Curses upon the forgetful who doom us to extending the cycle of history’s injustices and ignore the lessons of the past.
Curses upon those who diminish the sanctity of life in the dark service of power and wealth.
Curses upon those who perpetuate conflict and have chosen war over peace.
Curses upon the blind who see only enemies in others and ignore the promise of peace.
But…
Blessings to the peacemakers
Blessings to the compassionate
Blessings to the bridge-builders
Blessings to the humane
Blessings to the empathetic
Blessings to the just
Blessings to the listeners
Blessings to the humble
Blessings to the courageous
Blessings to the merciful
Blessings to the hopeful
Blessings to the lightbearers
Blessings to the servants of peace
Blessings to the healers
Blessings to all who keep the spark of love alive
