Religious War

We are at the start of the third major brush between Christians and Muslims.

Arab Muslims are quite open about loathing the presence of Christians in their lands (I'm not too happy about Christians in my lands, either). We Americans have become increasingly intolerant of Muslim residents here, and it is only a matter of time -- a short time -- before Arabs are rounded up and expelled or put in camps, their property confiscated, and all that goes with being demonized. There will be resistance, but security will be evoked, as it always is. First, we'll give them national IDs with little crescents on them, and the demand "Show me your card!" will have some teeth. Then maybe we'll have them wear special hats -- the fez, for instance, would be a nice fashion touch. But I think camps/expulsion are far more likely. After all, we cannot tolerate potential terrorists in our midst.

Two other times, in the last 600 or so years, there have been long, ongoing wars between Christian Europeans and Arab Muslims. The first occurred on the Iberian Peninsula; Muslims took most of what is now Spain in 711 and stayed until 1492. The second was in the 17th to early 20th centuries, in Eastern Europe, and lasted until the Ottomans picked the wrong side in WW1.

Who cares? Within about the next decade, we will be at war with Iran, Egypt, Iraq, Syria, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Somalia and a few other of the Arab or Persian Muslim countries, and will have no choice but to keep outside our borders anyone who has any Muslim blood, going back, oh, three generations or so. Best expel them all while we have the chance. Indonesians and Filipinos? We'll have a vote on them, but I have a pretty good idea what to expect.

And then? Here is my very practical idea. Many will think it alarming, but bear with me. We are going to do most of it anyway.

We need to move from being a world power, and not even a regional power, to being a power at home only. Not just isolationist; complete isolation. That damn fence needs to be 50 feet high, not 10 feet high. Nothing will cross our borders: no people, no goods, no services, no money. No debt will be repaid, no further debt will be incurred. If you want to stay, fine; but once you go, you can't come back. Relatives can visit, but only for two weeks, and with a bracelet that indicates where they are at all times. Sort of like a reverse electric dog fence. The fishing industry is a problem; we may need to eat farmed fish only. Not good, but the fishing industry is doomed anyway.

All overseas military bases will be abandoned. The navy will be reduced to a coastal force -- a big coastal force. Boundaries will be 200 miles. Military airplanes will patrol up to the borders. Every inch of the borders will be bristling with arms. And, if you even think of smuggling a person or a thing or some money, we will publicly humiliate you; something to do with body functions, or whippings in the town square. No more teaching of foreign languages at any level. Why would we need that? Intense, intense weapons research. The threat, posted on the 50 foot walls, written in crayon on construction paper: Touch us, and you and your ilk will no longer be on the planet. The State Department will use the crayons and construction paper. Canada and Mexico, with long land boundaries, will be the major problems. BIG fences, not just electrified, but designed to do away with anyone who comes within, oh, a hundred yards. We will divide up the Great Lakes.

I'm willing to be humanitarian. You have until January 1, 2012 to decide where to live.

So, a great experiment? Could we really rebuild the country? Can we give up the big TVs and the tchotchkes that are made in Asia? Yipes: no more coffee. Have a nice hot cup of chicken broth for a wakeup. No bananas, but lots of oranges. Fruits and veggies only in season. No grapes from Chile in midwinter. Sigh.

No more Mercedes, no more Toyotas; all cars will be made by GM, or Chrysler, or Ford. I'm sure they and the UAW will be glad to have their pick of the Honda and other foreign factories that dot the South.

No more crops picked by immigrant labor. If we don't pick it, we don't eat it. No more nannies working under the table; we take care of our own children. No more landscaping crews invading the suburbs each day; we mow our own lawns. Restaurant prices will double -- no more illegals to hire for cash; we'll cook our own food.

The first time we built the country, we did it on the backs of Native Americans, Caribbean islanders, Asians, and, by far greatest, in number and in pain, African Americans. They did the labor that made this country, and they didn't get paid. They got murdered, instead.

Can we build America a second time, with everybody getting paid, and nobody murdered? I'm not so sure. I'm not sure that the children of the middle class will be overjoyed about working in factories, or laying brick, or any of the gazillion jobs that, not long ago, were what Americans did.

If we build the 50 foot walls, and shut down the internet and telephone lines at the border, and knock down all the satellites, surely bad things will happen. But what?

If we build the country a second time, regaining our dignity and our liberty may be worth all the hard labor. We will be able to take care of our sick and ailing, our blind and deaf, our demented and damaged. There will be plenty of jobs, millions, to make all the stuff we need. There won't be China or Saudi Arabia to enslave us. We will be working for us, not for them. We can go our own way, without consulting our foreign masters. Are we worried about China attacking Taiwan? Fine, worry all you want, but ultimately it is their problem to solve. We are Americans, after all, and we will defend only Americans. Taiwan, Pakistan, South Korea, Israel, and all the other members of the American protectorate will fend for themselves; there will be no American help. Not even remissions.

On the other hand, I, at least, think that our messing about in the world has caused way more harm than good, so not much is lost in complete isolation.

The fences need to go up, and we need to cut all ties with China, Saudi Arabia, and the others who own us. No more. They can come knocking at the door with our IOUs in their hands -- too bad. We don't need them; we don't need their oil, we don't need their tchochkes. Yes, there will be chaos. But not for long. We are a resourceful bunch. We did it once, on the cheap. We can do it again.

To almost repeat myself: God gave Noah the rainbow sign; no more slaves, full price this time.

If this doesn't get comments, nothing will.