Danger, America

The breakdown is under way and there are things that are being used to prop it up, to create the impression or illusion things are just fine. Gas prices are great, aren’t they? There are also little hints about how misplaced bravado, carelessness, arrogance and insensitivities can end up being very costly. Some of those elements may well have figured into the Charlie Hebdo tragedy.

The Spies We Loved

Like so many people, I’ve always loved spy and espionage thrillers. For the most part the popular protagonists have been either American or British “heroes” up against their counterparts from Russia, Eastern Europe, Asia, etc. Whether suave, gadget laden types like James Bond, or the more cerebral, non-descript heroes, we do seem to have a love for these intrigues. But now there’s a new trend, especially on various TV shows where the enemies are of course terrorists largely of the radical Islamic variety.

In fact it’s almost a new industry in itself, as former CIA personnel have become very involved in contributing to TV shows and movies of this genre. The trend is still to show how we always overcome the enemy, tough and determined as they may be. But having seen a few of these shows, it seems to me that there’s again the smell of profit over sensibility in the depictions. One can feel the ambition, the intention to push the envelope, be the most daring and cutting edge, laced with bits of feel good compassion and psychobabble, etc. In the process it also seems that gratuitous assistance to a very determined enemy is given in some of the “clever” plots, where various terrorist schemes are presented which, if the enemy hasn’t already thought about them, are presented in an almost instructive and encouraging manner.

Sure, we know that terrorists are hard at work in their own right concocting plots. But there are also those people who aren’t necessarily associated with these radical groups who may be susceptible to such ideas too. We have plenty of evidence of how certain trends or characters inspired various school shooters or other psychopaths; still personal responsibility is the deciding factor. But there’s a feeling in the air of an ever increasing, pride-before-the-fall kind of false bravado, an aggressive glorification and commercialization of something that is not only horrific but decidedly different in every way from the realities of the Cold War and the context of many spy and espionage thrillers.

The Times Have Changed…and Are Fulfilling

We’re not in a time when the heads of two opposing nations like Russia and the US sit down for diplomatic talks, while it’s tacitly conceded that both countries are still running their spy operations, etc. The leader of the IS isn’t going to sit down with anyone to negotiate anything. His, and their, purpose is quite clear; they wish to destroy everyone and everything other than that which is fanatical Islam.

In case we are too forgetful (or smug) not only are the Paris attacks, and those already ongoing in other parts of the world, a clear warning that while the radical terrorists will use every means, including technology, social media, etc., they are not obsessed with taking selfies, creating the next hit TV show, or walking the red carpet at the Oscars, etc.

And if we care to revisit the Henoch Prophecies, we may wish to…sober up and pay attention to what’s specifically foretold for the US about that which will come after the destruction of the WTC, the event that forever shattered our illusion of invulnerability and impenetrability.

Trying to bolster our sense of security through our usual materialistic, entertainment oriented, phantasmagoria inducing mechanisms not only won’t help us regain it, it may well only delay our realizations of how life, how cause and effect works, and leave us even more deluded and vulnerable to another “unexpected” attack.

Here’s a new interview with Adam and Garth in Australia.

Danger, America originally appeared on They Fly Blog on January 29, 2015.