confluence

It's 2048. The Islamic world has overtaken not only the Middle East, but Africa, Russia, China, Central and South America. The Islamic and Communist Worlds have united into a single, global superpower. They're united by one vision of the future: to take the Palestinians, the largest victim of WWIII, and give them all of America, since they had sided with the Atheists and Christians in the war, and the Muslims have the most money.

The Caliphate is too powerful. American citizens are forcibly removed from their homes, and made to live far from any high ground (too risky, with "rebels" afoot).

Thankfully Canada, Europe, and Australia stand up for America. They form a united front and declare NO RECOGNITION. NO PEACE. NO PALESTINE. Their entire coalition even declares open season on the Muslim settlers, and cheers when they fall (wouldn't you, if you were a red-white-and-blue-blooded American??). Some good, Christian, Canadian kin even cross the border to fight for their older Brother!

With all of the Caliphate's enemies united against it, the new Palestine launches a "pre-emptive" strike, from their brand new borders, at Canada.

In response, Canada, Europe, Australia, and the American "rebels" defend themselves by "declaring war" on a "nation" that has no legal right to exist.

The Caliphate wins by sheer force, though. America gets a few licks in now and again, but... If America were ever to take things too far in the eyes of the Caliphate (and let's be honest, even some American Christians), they wouldn't hesitate to crush our children beneath the rubble if it meant they could finally get rid of the American "rebels."

Only it's not 2048, WWIII was WWII, the religions and countries are rearranged, and this isn't hypothetical.

If you felt even a tiny bit of what it might be like as a hypothetical American in 2048, you felt a tiny bit of what it might be like as a real Palestinian in 2023.

#FreePalestine #CriticalThinking #TheyreKids

I love how this joke migrated from Reddit to Lemmy, and you can see it bouncing around, getting all federated

Whenever I click a YouTube link in Boost, I get the following message. Clicking one of the options does switch to the YouTube app, but I can't view it inside the app.

Device: Motorola One 5G, Android 11

Hijacking The Brain and Connecting With The Natural Self (without magical thinking or supernatural beliefs of any kind)

A whisper inside betrays an illusion

Imputed identity fails to erase

New settings bring a certain confusion

I do not belong in this place

My mind wants to go home

Body reacting to novel, to new

Hiding from strange seed and spore

Protected stranger of blood and sinew

Haunted by memories of before

My bones want to go home

In me flows the blood of oppressors

Looking for a city on a hill

Now finding the saints as transgressors

Still touching the blood they did spill

My blood wants to go home

I want it all back—the ancient, the myths

I hear the Voice behind my ribs

My fingers itch to touch my megaliths

To feel history beyond the fibs

My heart wants to go home

If home is where heart is, mine isn't here

It isn't anywhere the Church is at rule

Holy men spoiled and ruled through fear

The Voice hushed by soldier and fool

My spirit wants to go home

From cypress and swamp, the little Voice calls

A brotherhood born of adversity

For the same Voice in me I hear from them all

Is silenced too in hopes of a city

May we all find our way home

EDIT: We’re going to attempt to organize a larger logo and spread the word further around various Fediverse services. I get that a lot of y’all are opposed to visiting over there. I'm pissed too, which is why I spent a lot of my day helping write “Fuck Spez.” I don’t think we’re going to contribute to Reddit’s revenue much, and I think at the very least sending a VERY public message that the Fediverse is here is a good thing.

What do y'all think about these books and authors?

I may be biased as an "exvangelical," because they helped me transition out of that fucked up worldview and rebuild another (along science-honoring lines) but I'm curious to hear other opinions.