Plot Twists

Shortly after learning to speak and read English, there was a period wherein I was fascinated by mystery novels. I went through countless dog eared copies of the Hardy Boys, which I picked up at the local public library, and the thing that always stuck out in my young, teenage mind, were the plot twists.

Every book had at least two plot twists, some far more, and I’d always walk away with the sense that I hadn’t seen that coming. Just when you thought you knew who done it, just when you thought you knew how it would end, one well-placed plot twist would upturn the entire apple cart and lead you in a new direction.

The world has recently experienced one such plot twist with the death of arguably the number two power center of the entire Iranian regime, General Qasem Soleimani. By all accounts, this was an unrepentantly evil individual, never to be confused with someone running a cat shelter or a puppy pound. He actively orchestrated, plotted, and carried out attacks that have left American armed forces personnel either maimed or killed and for such a man to have lived by the sword for so long, it was expected that he would inevitably die by the sword. Qasem Soleimani’s sword came in the form of an airstrike at Baghdad airport.

In an instant, a breath, in a moment in time the world turned on a dime, and what seemed like a relatively mundane start of another year turned to talks of a third world war, the reinstituting of the draft, every American citizen now being a walking target, and other such life-altering issues.

Before cooler heads could prevail, or anyone checked to verify that what they were spreading did not originate from the Babylon Bee, people were trying to rent bunkers, buy water, and go underground.

We have become a reactionary generation that doesn’t take the time to think things through anymore.

That is dangerous, because even a halfwit that understands human psychology, and understands that in the heat of the moment they can convince you to do something against your own best interest, can piggyback off of uncertainty, and make you do something utterly, undeniably dumb.

I can’t say I didn’t see some type of action against Iran coming. They’ve been pushing the envelope for some time, seeing whether or not we would react, and each attempt at goading the United States made them bolder when no significant blowback occurred. This was a well-timed response and one that sends a clear message.

What I didn’t see coming was almost half of this nation’s political class siding with a terrorist and the nation that is the world’s foremost funder of terrorist activity. The plot twist in this story is elected officials calling the removal of someone like Qasem Soleimani from the chessboard a war crime, something worthy of an international tribunal, and subsequent conviction.

Whichever angle you look at this from, the conclusion you come to is the same every time: Jesus was right! A house divided against itself will not stand, and every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation. 

With love in Christ,

Michael Boldea Jr.