"Forgive them father, for they know not what they do."

A coalition of the willing tortured Jesus Christ, it was reported yesterday.  

A loose coalition of civilian contractors, powerful Judeocons and jackbooted Christian thugs followed a weekend of torture with the murder of an alleged, innocent political prisoner.  Denied a fair trial and falsely imprisoned--according to a few of his followers--the Accused wore a cloak and crown of thorns and suffered severe humiliation.  Stripped naked, He was allegedly beaten with the lash and forced to mount a wooden cross before uttering the last words quoted above.  Those involved in the accidental death denied any blame and instead pointed to the obvious guilt of the Accused.  

We make controversial, blockbuster movies of tortured prophets--does anyone remember "The Passion of The Christ"?--while blithely installing bloodthirsty torturers in power to do our dirty work.  Now that we've finally gotten caught doing the dirty work ourselves, the whole world recognizes us for the despicable villians we've been for at least the last full century. Terror and torture is what we do so well. Torture is our stock in trade since we've become a global superpower. 

Does anyone see the ghostly image of the KKK in this photograph (alongside the lynched American) or recognize the similarity to El Greco's painting of the Crucifixion (below)?  Maybe the Ayatollah Khomeini was correct when he called America "The Great Satan."  Perhaps this was only a bit of pagan, Halloween pageantry "fun," but to a billion Muslims, Khomeini now stands correct in his assessment of Americans unless actual punishment is handed down to the culprits and damn quickly. 

Or was this despicable mockery really intended to insult not only an individual but a nation, a culture and a religion? As a veteran and a Christian, I feel the "civilian" torturers (CIA-Mossad?) should be given the same medicine they prescribed to their victims.  Let the punishment fit the crime, as Solomon would have said. Not that something like that will ever happen in the USA.

For we Americans are lesser men than Solomon, lesser than our Founding Fathers, lesser even than the British Redcoats we rebelled against in 1776. Indeed, soon after the Boston Massacre, the British soldiers who shot and killed five Bostonians were tried and imprisoned, and two soldiers were branded  for their crime.  No such punishment--if any punishment at all--awaits our "civilian contractor"/torturers.  Possibly a harsh slap on the wrist and demotion awaits the low-ranking enlisted guards, but nothing for their superiors in the Pentagon and White House who encouraged this war, for--as Jesus was well aware--justice is twisted to favor the torturers in a nation that condones and encourages torture as state policy.

Leave it to the Brits to hand down some severe and swift punishment in the next few weeks--which they will--while our Judeocons and jackbooted Christians make excuses, spin, deny and point fingers--which they will.  Our black and Latin enlisted soldiers, however, should consider who, or what, they are serving, whether an ideal of equality or the brutality of a new master race. The crucifix they wear around their necks shouldn't represent an occupation or insignia of thuggery, but serve as a reminder and remembrance of One who was tortured and killed while defending the downtrodden, the destitute and the imprisoned.  Let the criminals in high office deny any responsibility; after all, that's what they did two thousand years ago and are still doing today.