Kool-aid jokes aside, I’ve been sitting here wondering whether or not we’re going to end up with another Jonestown, only this time on U.S. soil. No, I’m not suggesting that the followers of the latest religious-nut-job Terry Jones, are going to commit mass-suicide. However, I am suggesting that this is a powder keg just begging for a match, and all it will take is a few well-armed sharp shooters to set it off. And in the general scheme of things, I can’t say I’d be the least bit upset with that.

On the other hand, I would be extremely upset if any U.S. military members would end up harmed as a result of this nonsense. It would also bother me greatly if these idiots would end up becoming poster children for Taliban and Al Qaeda recruiters. And then I considered the line-up of governmental and military folks that have been parading in front of the cameras condemning this. (Yes, I know there are religious leaders of all colors doing the same.) That is part of the reason why I bothered linking to Hillary Clinton’s take on the situation above.

When this first came out, I started wondering why it seemed like everyone was skirting around one particular word. As the warnings from military and governmental leaders started piling up almost as fast as the firewood, I got highly suspicious. You see, I’m not stupid. I do understand that ignorance of the law – or more accurately, the illegal consequences of one’s actions – is no defense for the most part, with one conspicuous exception. When I looked again at those warnings, they no longer smacked of righteous indignation, but took on an altogether different tone. They weren’t so much warnings, as they were lectures, stated purely for the purpose of educating – educating a very specific audience, I suspect.

So we have another “Jones-led” cult, this time hell-bent on desecrating the sacred texts of a faith that just happens to be the one followed by a twisted theocratic terrorist organization that our country is engaged with in war. (I know, I am stating the obvious, but with good reason.) And then there’s that word that as far as I can tell, just about everyone – if not everyone, at least everyone in a seat of power in this country, military or otherwise – is tap-dancing furiously around, but avoiding at all costs. They are only warning about the possibility of harm coming to our troops as a result of this activity. There are little murmurs about Freedom of Speech, but they are tempered with mentions of the known restrictions, like calling out “fire” in a crowded theater. And after considering all of this, that little word that rhymes with season is screaming in my head.

I will not talk of turning the other cheek, or embracing the Christian values of peace and understanding. I will speak as one engaged in war, the strategist, determined to win not only on the battlefield, but in the hearts and minds of those that are meant to be conquered. It is the greatest folly to make shows of hatred and intolerance toward the enemy anywhere but on the field of battle. The combatant is the enemy, not the people. Wage war against not only those you face on the battlefield, but also on the civilians they may or may not represent, and you become your enemy’s greatest tool in recruitment – you guarantee that your enemy can easily replenish forces on the battlefield. You win the battle for your enemy, and guarantee your own defeat.