Escalation

 The biggest lie currently circulating and making its way through the general consciousness like some malignant poison is that a man who shakes hands with ghosts wanders off into the woods and is only concerned about his next diaper change and the flavor of ice cream he will enjoy once the afternoon rolls around is somehow in charge, or making decisions that could potentially lead to the escalation of an already volatile and drawn out conflict, and the very real probability of a full scale, all-out world war.

It’s like having an aging grandparent who’s been missing a step or five and putting them in charge of retrofitting the gas line coming into the house while the rest of the family is in the basement planning their retirement party. He was never good at such things, even on his best day, but now, in his twilight, when more often than not he forgets his own name and has extended bouts of senility, is when we put him in charge of something that could turn the entire home into ash and rubble in five seconds flat.

It’s not so much that it beggars belief. It’s more akin to shattering it all together, asking the world to believe something demonstrably fallacious with a straight face. We’re expected to suspend reality and believe that he is the decider when it’s likely the only thing he’s decided over the last few years is the flavor of ice cream he’d get in his waffle cone.

Apparently, it’s only when the cameras are on that the man seems lost in space and time. Turn them off, and you’ve got one sharp cookie who understands the inner workings and dynamics of global politics to the point that he concluded the only way to peace is through war and escalation of a conflict that was weeks away from being resolved diplomatically.

Ever since the day after the elections when we got the results faster than anyone would dare hope, and the most hated man in Washington got a mandate to try and dismantle the machine, I’ve stated, and repeatedly so that it’s too quiet. Something was off, felt strange, and barring the handful of women who’ve taken to shaving their heads on Tic Toc and swearing off the intimacy they were never likely to be the recipients of in the first place and the talking heads who accused half the country of deep seeded misogyny, racism, ageism, sexism, and every other ism you could think of, everything seemed relatively peaceful.

I got that same sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach when my kids have been upstairs for half an hour, with nary a peep to be heard. Sure, the quiet is a nice respite, but it’s also foreboding, and even though every ounce of me wants to enjoy it for a few more minutes, I know I have to go and check on them.

With less than two months to go before he has to vacate the office and enjoy his ice cream in Delaware rather than DC, the man who never saw a shadow he didn’t threaten has decided to give Ukraine the green light to use American-made long-range missiles to attack Russia. This is a departure from this administration’s previous position, but elections have consequences, and if the consequence of having chosen not to descend into full-blown Communism and rejecting globalism is full-scale war, none of the octogenarians on the Hill seem to be overly bothered by it.

The instant Ukraine got the green light to escalate, they did so, and reports are coming in that an American missile was used against a military depot in Russia. What the world is currently banking on and hoping for is Russian restraint, wherein they don’t reciprocate in kind and drag the rest of Europe into this conflict, a conflict that all parties acknowledged was likely to end with some sort of peace deal within days of the man who took on Corn Pop was to vacate the oval office.

Feral animals are at their most dangerous when they are cornered. Even with the uptick in business by the paper shredding trucks, there’s still a lot of dirt that those who’ve been in power for decades, pulling strings, and doing things that would turn the stomach of the most hardened of criminals, don’t ever want to see the light of day.

We are in uncharted territory, and the next few weeks will be very telling indeed. The worst thing you can do to the powerful is threaten their power. Because the narcissism of power is such that the only thing the individual in question is concerned with is himself and his influence, he will readily barter the lives of others and his own nation’s safety and security if he believes there is a chance to retain it.

This mindset is not exclusive to one side of the political aisle or the other. There is bipartisanship when it comes to protecting one’s self-interests, even if it comes at the cost of the lives and safety of those they are supposed to represent. If you thought we were out of the woods, one objective look will tell you we’re still deep in the forest. This is not the time to rest on our laurels or take a victory lap. It is a time to be watchful and sober, trusting God in all things and knowing where our help comes from. Spoiler alert: it’s not government!

“And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes, and our sacred Honor.” If only.

With love in Christ,

Michael Boldea, Jr.