The Last Stand

Whether we care to admit it or not, 2006 has brought us closer to the Last Stand. It was not enough that half the planet is either starving to death each day, or living at extreme levels of poverty…we now have the other half of the planet facing down the reality of nuclear proliferation. If you’re worried about the way things are, you’re not alone. Each week I receive many emails from people concerned about the state of affairs in this world. Where once nuclear weapons were quite expensive, now with a little know-how and some loose change, voila! you have a dirty bomb.

Picture yourself on a hilltop…while all around you are levels of protection, each one existing to defend your way of life, family, and neighbors. One by one, these levels of protection have been attacked and compromised. Be it corruptions of government, or scandals within religious institutions…while each one falls the wave of turmoil moves closer. Radio and television host Glenn Beck calls it “the gathering storm.” He believes that the same atmosphere exists now as pre-world war two. Glenn believes it is 1938 all over again.

I try to stay quite positive in my own life…but I do believe there are forces in play to change the landscape and the way we all live. Have we all gone mad, or is there truly something brewing out there, something on the horizon, where someone believes it is their destiny to rule and own the world? It can all seem quite bizarre and funny until someone like the President of Iran not only says he wants to wipe Israel off the face of the earth, but take on the Anglo-Saxon way of life also. Other heads of state around the world also chime in from time to time their visions of a New World. Each week there is a new face standing on the soap box of threats.

Neville Chamberlain who was Prime Minister of Great Britain met with Adolph Hitler to try to negotiate a peace treaty before the start of World War Two. He arrived back in England waving a piece of paper, saying “I have met with Chancellor Hitler, and I trust him…there will be peace in our time.” While he was speaking the words, Hitler was invading Poland. As all this was going on, only one person in the British government took a strong stand against Hitler….guess who? Winston Churchill. Was Churchill naive? Or did he see the devastation that was about to come? Some are saying the same denial is taking place again.

Is the United States the Great Satan, as some would lead you to believe? Or is there another agenda in play in someone else’s mind, who has a different vision of what the world should be like? Two opposing ideologies are on a collision course, and unless someone steps in and is able to head them off at the pass, the outcome is starting to appear quite obvious. If this happens, it will make the Second World War look like a tea party.

Why do I write this, especially at this time of year? Because the greatest gift we all can have is Peace. If there is a “gathering storm,” perhaps someone can break through the clouds with a little gleaming sunlight. Perhaps someone can blow away the clouds and calm the winds. I don’t know if one country can do it alone, but there is a power that is strong enough to wipe away the darkness. God, we need you now more than ever.

Give the gift of Peace,

Jennifer Avalon