Apocalypse a Go-Go

We'll be gone-gone

With belief in an impending apocalypse, the new U.S. ambassador to Israel seems perfectly suited for the post. A hard-right wing Christian nationalist who has lived his political life in the name of the lord-- the man has earned his divine reward. With roots in the Christian Coalition and prominent among the whole Sunday-morn-going-to-pray crowd, he flaunted his right-wing stars and stripes credentials on a few eponymous radio and television talk shows. He has had a lot to say about salvation and politics and never shall the two be divided by this man. He has said, "There is no such thing as a West Bank - it's Judea and Samaria. There's no such thing as a settlement... There's no such thing as an occupation." Somewhere along the way this man concluded that Israel is the epicenter of the apocalyptic salvation and he wants his just reward: righteous, eternal life.

My guess is he got hold of the Book of Daniel and saw it as nonfiction doctrine. Literary analysis-- parable, analogy, irony-- completely escapes the thinking of hard right Christians. With all due respect to the Judeo-Christian premise that the end of the world is coming, our day of redemption is near, and only those who have served will be saved-- or something like that-- it takes a special stupid to base governmental policy on that premise. With an impressive degree from a top University and two honorary doctorates, this man believes in the Revelation as literal truth.

A guy like that wants to be in Israel when the apocalypse hits. Front row seat to the rest of us going to hell, while he-- and perhaps he alone—ascends to eternal life. Everlasting life with no taxes, there is nothing better.

That is not the only apocalypse being prepped. The current administration is engineering an economic apocalypse-- a nothing-left-to-lose fork in an unpaved road. Our economic structure is about to unravel. When money becomes scarce, it’s not because it evaporated. Where there once was a pile of wealth, there is still a pile—it’s somewhere else, held by someone who neither needs it nor acknowledges its existence. They know exactly who will survive this economic reckoning. That’s long been decided based on who believes himself to be untouchable, indestructible, and immortal.

We have an apocalypse of individual expression and livelihood. Small businesses are dying—not coincidentally—because they compete with mega-survivors. Think sabotage on the Titanic: it’s already sinking and the only strategy is to tilt the bow of the ship just enough to favor the top five percent—which just happens to be the number of life rafts available.

We’re seeing the rise of a reckoning with the working class. Let’s face it, retraining an aging workforce in new technology is burdensome. The system needs fresh, sharp talent—workers who’ve never known pre-AI reality (who needs all that reminiscing?). A workforce raised in a restructured educational system that teaches a belief in everlasting reward for unflinching loyalty. That is a lot cheaper than health care and pension plans. An affordable workforce, all they need is a belief in salvation. Or not.

It’s a grand design to survive oncoming apocalypses, yes that’s multiple apocalypses (hey, if you can believe in one, you can believe in many). Otherwise, what is the point of dismantling only to restructure the U.S. Agency for International Development, National Institutes of Health, and the National Park Service? There is no point—unless the goal is to dis-empower the middle class.

I’ve figured out the key difference between Administration 1.0 and Administration 2.0— the reason this new wave of corruption is off the charts: cryptocurrency. I hesitate to describe it as the perfect storm for unchecked vast and deep corruption because our National Weather Service has been rendered almost complete useless. Crypto has been the missing link between the soulless associates and eternal survivorship.

What was seen as a simple gold cross around the neck, symbolizing Christ-like values, now signals gaslighting and subterfuge. Once upon a time there were blonde jokes-- today we have blonde torpedoes aimed at truth and justice. We might be living through the revenge of blondes.

Some people-- specifically people on the To-Be-Saved list-- are ready, with extra private planes and multi-currency wealth, are prepared to find salvation. Some even believe they have a means to Mars. Blessed and pardoned, all of them.

What’s the common denominator in executive pardons? Wealth? Yes, mostly (January 6 as a partial exception). Caste loyalty? That too, but not always (again, see January 6). One thing is constant: they’re all white. Enter Diddy. Maybe. He’s rich enough to be redeemable and black enough to provide plausible deniability for stained white people.

Let’s ask children in Gaza, Sudan, and the Congo: Is there an apocalypse? If they could, many might direct us to the thousands of people sleeping on our streets. The richest nation in the world and people are begging for food. They could ask the same question: Is this the apocalypse?

We can repent later. Right now we need serious damage control against intimidation, against blatant civil rights violations. Our inner lives are being drained and every path to recovery is closed or broken. This apocalypse is exhausting. It demands so much attention.

What is certain: this cannot end without spectacle—and without a lot of unintended casualties.