Desert, Destiny, and Despair

“And he shall be a savage of the children of men; his hand is against everyone and the hand of everyone against him, and he shall dwell upon the borders of all his brothers” Gen 16:12

Funny how ancient curses have a way of biting us in the ass when we’re sure they are meant for other people. One of those curses is playing out in front of us still today. Isaac and Ishmael. You know the story, and if you don’t, it’s basically an older version of the Hatfields and the McCoys. One gets the cushy private equity job, and the other gets to clean the toilets. According to their fairy tales, Isaac got the booty and Ishmael the boot and a curse to wander the desert like a “wild ass,” slapping everyone in the face who is around him. Familiar, right? Except the slapping has now surpassed all of the ordnance we dropped in the 20 years in both Iraq and Afghanistan. Just think about that for a second—in a place smaller than Manhattan and more densely populated. This is not war… this is genocide.

But here’s the kicker: maybe the cosmic dealer shuffled the deck when we weren’t paying attention. Seems like the ones who were supposed to be the “chosen” are kicking up more dust than a herd of stampeding camels. Bombs dropping, mostly on women and children caught in the crossfire wondering what the hell happened.

I’ve trudged through enough deserts to know that curses and blessings can swap places quicker than Ben-Gvir can say “Greater Israel.” Spend some time squinting into the horizon with sand in your boots, and you start questioning which way is up. Maybe the lines between the damned and the blessed aren’t as clear-cut as those old scrolls would have us believe.

Meanwhile, the world’s busy scribbling headlines and pointing fingers, but no one’s stopping to read the fine print. Mostly because there is none. American journalists are pussies. There I said it. Maybe if they did half of their job, they’d realize all they are is a cog. American journalism is just a contributor to another aipac propoganda story.

It’s like we’re all trapped in this endless loop of suffering, and no one seems to give a damn. How can so many people just look away? How is this not glaringly, screamingly wrong? It’s as if the world’s gone blind to its own humanity. Meanwhile, Israel racks up a body count on journalists and UN aid workers the likes of which have not been seen in history! Open your eyes.

Maybe the curse wasn’t about Ishmael after all. Maybe it’s about any of us who let anger and fear drive us to unforgivable acts. Maybe we’re all the wild asses now, kicking up dust and not caring who gets trampled in the process.

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“And he shall be a savage of the children of men; his hand is against everyone and the hand of everyone against him, and he shall dwell upon the borders of all his brothers” Gen 16:12

Funny how ancient curses have a way of biting us in the ass when we’re sure they are meant for other people. One of those curses is playing out in front of us still today. Isaac and Ishmael. You know the story, and if you don’t, it’s basically an older version of the Hatfields and the McCoys. One gets the cushy private equity job, and the other gets to clean the toilets. According to their fairy tales, Isaac got the booty and Ishmael the boot and a curse to wander the desert like a “wild ass,” slapping everyone in the face who is around him. Familiar, right? Except the slapping has now surpassed all of the ordnance we dropped in the 20 years in both Iraq and Afghanistan. Just think about that for a second—in a place smaller than Manhattan and more densely populated. This is not war… this is genocide.

But here’s the kicker: maybe the cosmic dealer shuffled the deck when we weren’t paying attention. Seems like the ones who were supposed to be the “chosen” are kicking up more dust than a herd of stampeding camels. Bombs dropping, mostly on women and children caught in the crossfire wondering what the hell happened.

I’ve trudged through enough deserts to know that curses and blessings can swap places quicker than Ben-Gvir can say “Greater Israel.” Spend some time squinting into the horizon with sand in your boots, and you start questioning which way is up. Maybe the lines between the damned and the blessed aren’t as clear-cut as those old scrolls would have us believe.

Meanwhile, the world’s busy scribbling headlines and pointing fingers, but no one’s stopping to read the fine print. Mostly because there is none. American journalists are pussies. There I said it. Maybe if they did half of their job, they’d realize all they are is a cog. American journalism is just a contributor to another aipac propoganda story.