Pastor Terry Jones is a new kind of terrorist. Rather than create a spectacle of murder, this Faustian creature is far more subtle. He goes after symbols, which in the age 24/7 data streams, is far more potent. Following in the footsteps of the Taliban’s assault on Buddhist statues, the Neo-Nazis penchant for removing Auschwitz memorabilia, and the other foul creatures who out of meanness deny the Holocaust, Pastor Terry Jones has concocted his own special vitriolic sauce aimed at offending a quarter of the world’s population.
Unfortunately, this man with a flock no larger than 12 demented disciples – a Jesus in reverse, who operates a “church” out of a mobile home park, has garnished the attention of the Empire, who has proved more than willing to negotiate with his kind.
Anyone who believes that our Empire is run by an evil cabal of competent self interested elitists is sorrily deluded. Rather it is an autonomous machine, with self modifying code, staffed with opportunists bickering amongst themselves for petty positions of privilege. This sorry spectacle showed how easily our leaders were willing to grant attention to Terry Jones’ Faustian cause, in order to placate their broader audiences without having to make any serious decisions.
A thought comes to mind. Perhaps, the real weakness of the American Empire lies not at the periphery with the Islamic Fundamentalists or with the idealistic Marxists Revolutionaries. These can always be dealt with by a strong military, corrupt proxies, and crushing IMF loans. Rather it is with the parasites that lie within its very belly – with the brutes who increasingly do the Empire’s bidding – the new Visigoths. It is folks like Terry Jones, who publicly act out the feelings increasingly held by more and more Americans that terrifies the very foundation of our military industrial machine.
