Hell represents many things to different people and religions, everything from perpetual torment to a lake of fire, or to the total absence of good or light. One thing is for sure, it is a place of our own making and design. We build it with every deed and thought and action. Hell is not a bad place, it is the absence of anything good; our every action and thought makes it a very special and personal place, created by and tailored foreach of us. Many religious texts, including the Bible tell us that we are responsible for our thoughts and actions. Each has a consequence, and those that go unrepented create what we call Hell.

“It was Hell on earth.”
“War is Hell…”
“I’m going through Hell…”

This commentary is titled “A Season in Hell.” Season in this case is a period of time, much like spring, summer, fall, and winter; often used as metaphors for our changing ecological, political, social, and economic climates. The similes extend to our republic as well.

The universal and pervasive analogies are:

* Spring is a time of renewal and hope.
* Summer is a time of growth and easy living.
* Fall is the time of harvest, difficulty, and the imminent end.
* Winter is the time of death and decay.

This is the winter of our discontent and our Season in Hell. Interestingly this is spring in our physical and political cycles. It’s May on the calendar, and election season in the political. Spring is in the air across the northern continents and is Winter politically.

There’s the dichotomy and Our Season in Hell.

“The darkest places in hell are reserved for those who maintain their neutrality in times of moral crisis…” ~ Dante Alighieri (1265 – 1321)

The nine circles of Hell in Dante’s Inferno hold the souls of transgressors. Each circle holds the souls of those who are guilty of the most grievous sins. Punishment is in accordance with each sin and is inflicted for eternity. Dante’s ninth level punishes traitors. Even 700 years ago in Dante’s time, treachery was seen as an unforgivable sin earning a special place, the lowest place, in Hell.

Dante’s impressions of Hell are based on his understanding as framed by his period in history; the time when fear, uncertainty, and doubt were tools lifted from religious texts by unscrupulous clerics to terrify people into believing and adopting their religious interpretations – ideologies – doctrines.

Historians call this period – The Dark Ages.

Nefarious clerics found frightening and intimidating Biblical texts and references, reinterpreting, and repurposing them, relaying them as truths – but totally out of context. Remember, that few people could read and relied on their ‘educated’ religious leaders, priests, and pastors, to interpret this information for them. It was a time of ignorance – the dark ages – and it worked to the advantage of the ambitious, who profited from the masses’ ignorance.

Some things never change, and the more they change, the more they stay the same – our government plays the same games with us. How much of what they do is behind closed doors – out of sight? The misinterpretations of truth instill confusion and concern. It all involves Fear, Uncertainty, and Doubt (FUD).

This nescience set the tone for the dark ages, but the ‘Modern Politigencia’ have mastered this technique for use today. FUD replaces truth in every aspect of our lives – especially in partisan political pandering. We’re constantly reminded that things are too complicated for us mere mortals to comprehend, which is why we need to trust the government to look after our interests. After all – they know what’s best… Right?

As times change, we modified our beliefs to accommodate our evolving ideologies, justifying our lives, and what our intellectualized and rationalized image of God will permit. Our academic approach to belief allows us to adjust our image of God to fit our needs, because our Ends Justify the Means… don’t they…

This begs the question: Did we invent God, or has He always existed?

If we invented God, we could change him to accommodate our needs, but if He is eternal, He is and always will be – immutable, changeless. Which means that right and wrong are also constants.

There are standards, ethics, and morals that define right and wrong, but now, these are also alterable concepts.

Why do you suppose a government would want to abolish religion replacing it with an a-moral politically contrived approach defined by Diversity, Inclusion, and Equity (DIE); these precepts are intentionally capricious and mercurial.

Truth is what the predominant partisan political party says it is.

“There is not a crime, there is not a dodge, there is not a trick, there is not a swindle, there is not a vice which does not live by secrecy. Poverty is the parent of revolution and crime. For the powerful, crimes are those that others commit.” ~ Joseph Pulitzer

In Pulitzers quote above the word poverty references lack, but not just financial or social inequity or need, but the lack of information especially the lack of truth.

So, what was sin, is no longer; it’s just part of modern life, and if we’ve learned ways to excuse it: ignore it – it will go away – No harm – No foul… Besides, everyone does it! We’ve created degrees of wrong, and legally blurred the line that separates unacceptable from acceptable. That which was wrong is now common practice and permissible.

It was just a little white lie – we’ve created degrees of truth and ways to measure offenses.

Right and wrong exist on a grayscale or by degrees as judged by these elected or appointed officials who decide the severity based on the DIE scale of justice.

This is how they retain power.

This is how they appeal to their base.

This is how they justify themselves – on the DIE sliding-scale.

This is how we justify every decision and choice.

Nothing is absolutely right or wrong – it depends on who you are and how much power you can add to those making these decisions.

You’re a tool, a pawn, currency.

A Season in Hell…

One of my early readers made an acerbic comment about my time in Vietnam. I was a baby killer and a war monger. You see, I volunteered to fight, albeit in the Air Force. The commenter said that I didn’t really fight because I was above the fighting, not actually on the ground, however, I was still guilty of crimes against humanity because I was there, and he was blameless because he stayed home to protest – well rationalized Skippy.

I served with the U.S. Army in 1969. On December 14,1969, I was wounded by rocket or mortar fire when our LZ came under attack, one month shy of my 21st birthday. I spent 8 months in army hospitals. I have scars on my right flank, (kidney and liver damage) both arms, both legs, and left foot. A piece of shrapnel tore through my jungle boot, at the base of my toes, almost severing them from my foot. I still consider myself one of the lucky ones to have survived combat in Vietnam. A few years ago I broke a couple of ribs, and a doctor at the hospital asked me what happened, when he saw all the scars. I told him it was from time served in Vietnam. He said it looked like I had been run over by a tank. I didn’t realize only 3 in 10 of us still remain. God bless you all, my brothers. ~ Felix Madison

I can assure you that regardless of being in the jungle or over it, the fighting and exposure to danger are identical.

Thousands of Airmen died in that war alongside Soldiers, Marines, and Sailors. We fought the same fight, shoulder to shoulder, and for the same country… that was what we believed at the time.

But the people of America abandoned us and reviled us when we came home.

There were no parades.

There was no welcome home, thank you for your service.

That treatment, that sentiment reminds me of the January 6th Capitol Demonstrations where anyone attending is guilty of insurrection. Guilty, regardless of intent.

We adapt our Constitutional Law to fit the needs of the elites in power.

This is ‘Merkan style Gubmint…

Very few people know about my service, and what I did. I may write that story someday, but for now, I’ll give you the abridged version. Much of what I did was highly classified and may still be for all I know. I can tell you that I worked with a research and development group that used drones for photo-reconnaissance, electronic countermeasures, and weapons delivery. It was the precursor of the military drone programs of today. We were the pioneers of this technology – testing and refining it.

While on a drone recovery mission, we were forced to auto-rotate into the jungle in the recovery helicopter, a CH-3, in an unfriendly area. This incident and several others still haunt my dreams. Obviously, I made it home from each incident, but only through the heroic efforts of my military brothers and sisters.

It’s a portion of my Season in Hell; there are others. It affects 7% of Veterans. They named our anguish, PTSD – “Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. “PTSD is a mental health condition that’s triggered by a terrifying event — either experiencing it or witnessing it. Symptoms may include flashbacks, nightmares, and severe anxiety, as well as uncontrollable thoughts about the event.”

I shared this snippet because it’s one of the reasons I write and why I care. I’ve seen things that no person should see, I’ve experienced things that many will never understand. I have walked and stood where you never will. I continue to write because I firmly believe this republic is worth saving, even though what you think you know, is based on misinformation and disinformation. I’m trying to open your minds to alternatives and possibilities and new ways of thinking and perceiving our world. I don’t ask that you agree, only to consider my points of view.

I remember this proverb while I write every commentary, and before I criticize…

“Never judge another until I have walked a mile in his moccasins…” ~ An American Indian Proverb

‘Merkans have learned that it’s safe and easy to rationalize anything. It’s the convenient way to avoid committing – taking a stand. Put yourself in the shoes of an early American in 1775. The British have taken everything you’ve built and created with your sweat and toil. They take what they want and do as they please. They tax your profits. They Own You!

THIS is A Season in Hell

Now return to today – this moment in time… What will it take for you to exclaim – “I’m mad as Hell, and I’m not going to take it anymore!” When will you choose a side – definitively – decide to stand up or wait for someone else to do it? Are you committed?

Here’s an easy explanation for the difference between Involved and Committed.

Imagine a bacon and egg breakfast.

* The chicken is involved in the breakfast – she just provided the eggs…
* The pig is committed to the breakfast – it gave its life to provide the bacon.

Many people of that time did exactly what most ‘Merkan’s do now. They waited for someone else to do the hard things, to make the tuff decisions, to take the most difficult step of their lives. Many never did, and today, many never do. They are quietly and carefully, waiting to align with the winning side. It’s OK to be cautious – it’s human nature, but this decision not to engage has consequences, just like every decision we make.

Will indecision – ambivalence be your Season in Hell?

I will never retreat, even though it’s the easy thing to do. I know that Jeff believes as I and hundreds of others do. Yet, there are times of doubt and despair – is it worth the effort?

This IS our Season in HELL!

We keep going because we believe in America, but the ambivalence of the majority constantly tests our resolve.

What precedes us sets the stage for now, and as Shakespeare said in Richard III… “Now is the Winter of our discontent…”

This commentary isn’t about Jeff or me. It’s about what this republic is, and what it endures.

“A nation can survive its fools and even the ambitious. But it cannot survive treason from within. An enemy at the gates is less formidable, for he is known and carries his banner openly. But the traitor moves amongst those within the gate freely, his sly whispers rustling through all the alleys, heard in the very halls of government itself.” ~ Marcus Tullius Cicero – 106 to 43 BC.

~ A Season in Hell ~

I believe that Hell is a construct of our own efforts, made by our choices, fashioned by action and inaction; intentions and inattention’s; and by our intent. Who knows the mind or intent of God.

Were the inspired words of the prophets in the bible accurate representations of His intent or filtered through the understandings of the time?

Did those who transcribed and translated these parables, proverbs, and warnings capture the true intent or were they adjusted to sell the current narrative.

Will we ever know the truth of God’s intent, or should we be content to live a moral and ethical life?

There are only two laws:

* Love God above all else
* Love your neighbor as you love yourself.

Violating one violates the other.

The Christian Bible and many other religious texts tell us that our stubbornness and arrogance condemn us to ‘A Season in Hell,’ and in some cases an eternity. Yet all it takes is honest repentance to undo every misstep, misdeed, and offense.

Repentance is reviewing one’s actions and feeling contrition or regret for past wrongs, which is accompanied by commitment to, and actual actions, that show and prove a change for the better.

“How vain it is to sit down to wright when you have not stood up to live.” ~ Henry David Thoreau

For the Amalgamated Heavy and kudos to Jeff Bennett for this idea and title…

~ Unabashedly ~