The Empty Chair
By Michael Moriarty
A recent photo of Osama bin Laden in the National Post looked more like an expensively-lit Rembrandt drawing of Christ than it resembled an image of a cold-blooded assassin. Smiling beatifically, Allah’s self-appointed scourge had more of Israel than Islam in his expression. The photographer obviously knew what effect the leader of the Jihad wanted to create.
"Even your gods are on our side!"
As of this writing, bin Laden has yet to be captured, despite the saturation bombing of Afghanistan. With the obligatory cooperation of the Western press, North America’s most threatening enemy wishes to be deified while still alive.
Is it possible this homicidal prophet of Yemen could be the Second Coming of Revelations, disguised as Judeo-Christianity’s most committed destroyer?
Coming out of the direct line of Leninism, Stalinism and Maoism, Jihadism smells more of the Anti-Christ than the Christ. If the believers in Armageddon are looking for a literal Beast and Preacher, bin Laden fits the role best. He will also be recorded as Islam’s greatest traitor, leading Muslims everywhere to annihilation.
What possible response can the Judeo-Christian civilization make to this metaphysical spin-doctoring?
The empty chair.
If you accept the fact that, because of his revolutionary teachings, the soul and spirit of Jesus Christ never left the earth, then the image we are protecting, the symbol of our entire Western Civilization and traditions, is ubiquitous and invisible. That is why, until this war is over, it would do us all well to leave an empty chair at table. Within that humble throne sits our history, dreams, achievements, and the sins for which He has forgiven us.
Should we all wear crucifixes and mezzuzahs, it might give our enemies some pause in their megalomaniac self-righteousness.
"We are quite prepared to fight you on any level, Osama bin Laden."
Add to that a North American commitment to Israel that basically says, "We will make sure that the parents of our Lord, the orthodox Jews, will have ‘room at the Inn’ this time."
Should Israel agree to become the 51st State and North Americans move in, these new citizens will fight rock-throwing Palestinians in the streets. Should Yasir Arafat’s pathetic followers face repeated defeats, the size and depth of opposition to bin Laden will be there for all to see.
Islam does not believe our God of the Old and New Testament lives in our viscera. The Muslim’s claims about Western "decadence" and weakness are substantiated by our reliance on air power. Hand-to-hand combat, according to bin Laden, is something we are either incapable of or too frightened to engage in.
As the terror in North America escalates and more American citizens are murdered, the necessity of a citizen’s self-defense army will be obvious. Also required are symbols of our faith in the God of Western Civilization. Not all North Americans need to be Christians or Jews, but those who are might do well to set an empty chair at dinner and display a suitably intimidating security force. What our religious leaders have failed to do -- bring the people of the Old and New Testaments together -- could be the blessing in disguise behind this desperate and final assault by the Jihad on North America.
Long and short-range bombers will only embolden our enemy’s commitment. Since bin Laden styles himself as a middle-eastern Ho Chi Minh, the fierce-fighting spirit of the Viet Cong will be seen on our own soil. In not wanting to fight the Cold War, we basically surrendered to an inevitable Hot Civil War.
Only remembering the unsurpassed weight and strength of 3,000 years of Judeo-Christian civilization will bring us the calm and cunning required to defeat the enemy.
Such an unabashed display of pride in our Judeo-Christian heritage will draw the fire of the Jihad, but isn’t that what we need to do? Our "empty chairs" should drive them out of the shadows to reveal themselves. Should anyone spit on the "empty chair," we will smile and say: "He’s been spit on before, but now he’s laughing at you." Should our agents-provocateurs rely on North American fellow-travelers, they too will find worthy opponents.
The Islamic Viet Cong will soon learn that they are fighting on our home court. If the battle is slow and arduous for us, imagine how infuriating it will be for them.
Yes, many of us will die in this new war to be fought on North American soil, but all will be heroes who died protecting the greatest, freest, most industrious civilization in the history of the world.