“America, in trying to hold her place as the greatest power among the nations of earth, is one of the most troubled countries on earth today.” The Honorable Elijah Muhammad
As the year was closing, it included a literal bang with the explosion of a bomb laden recreational vehicle on the streets of Nashville in Tennessee. And while authorities at Final Call press time had not connected the act with a motive, such planned and executed violence is another indicator of the lack of peace in a country founded on violence and steeped in slavery, suffering and death.
Whatever the motive, the act was clearly a destructive one, a violent one and one intended to impact, if not take the lives of others. It was also a statement, though the political, social, theological or other motivation remains to be discovered—according to what has been said publicly.
As the Associated reported Dec. 28, “The man authorities believe was responsible for setting off a Christmas Day bomb that injured three people and damaged dozens of buildings in downtown Nashville told a neighbor days before the explosion that ‘Nashville and the world is never going to forget me.’
“Rick Laude said he saw Anthony Quinn Warner standing at his mailbox on Dec. 21 and pulled over in his car to speak with him. After asking how Warner’s elderly mother was doing, Laude said he casually asked him, ‘Is Santa going to bring you anything good for Christmas?’ Laude said Warner smiled and then said, ‘Oh, yeah, Nashville and the world is never going to forget me.’”
“While officials … named Anthony Quinn Warner, 63, as the man behind the mysterious explosion in which he was killed, the motive has remained elusive.”
“Furthermore, officials have not provided insight into why Warner selected the particular location for the bombing, which damaged an AT&T building and continued to wreak havoc on cellphone service and police and hospital communications in several Southern states as the company worked to restore service,” said the Associated Press.
“The bombing took place on a holiday morning well before downtown streets were bustling with activity and was accompanied by a recorded announcement warning anyone nearby that a bomb would soon detonate. Then, for reasons that may never be known, the audio switched to a recording of Petula Clark’s 1964 hit ‘Downtown’ shortly before the blast.”
What is American society coming to? What does such violence represent? It is another sign of the Unraveling of a Great Nation, which was the title of a message delivered by the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan in February to close the Nation of Islam’s annual Saviours’ Day convention in Detroit.
“You, my poor, pitiful brothers and sisters, you are opting to be a part of that that is unraveling right in front of your eyes. You see the country cascading downward. You see the moral fiber of America getting into the gutter. Who wants a membership in a house of whores? Bought and paid for leaders. Nobody can stand up if the enemy says, ‘you don’t stand up for that.’ Satan is having a field day with America. Evil has been made fair seeming. The subject for my lecture today, which is full of good news and warning: ‘The Unraveling of a Great Nation,’ ” said the Minister. “When you unravel something, you undo twisted, knitted, or woven threads; you investigate and solve or explain something complicated or puzzling. The condition of America is puzzling. The world is looking at a country going to hell.”
When a country sees violence rising and violence not connected to heat of the moment passion or direct personal confrontation and conflict, a country is seeing the unraveling of the bonds of a social construct that has held the nation together.
Lashing out and striking out in ways that harm or kill innocent people signals a deeply aggrieved person or a highly narcissistic person who wants to be seen, to be heard, to be felt and to be remembered. It is a strike at society itself.
Interestingly the accused bomber is another White male who is depicted somewhat as a loner who functioned well in his profession in the IT industry and who interacted in limited ways with neighbors. But neighbors tell the media, there was no indication he was a threat.
How many times has America seen the same scenario, the same description and experienced the same horror and trauma? While some are distraught and lost in the moment of the attack, others revel in it and others see inspiration for their own Unabomber moment.
This is not a healthy society and America’s condition is not just social or political, it is spiritual. Her continued downfall reflects biblical admonitions, “For the day of the LORD is approaching for all the nations! Just as you have done, so it will be done to you. You will get exactly what your deeds deserve,” says Obadiah 1:15. “Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life,” says the sixth chapter of Galatians.
How many countries has America bombed? How many nations has she destroyed? How many people has she terrorized? She has delighted in war, as Nation of Islam patriarch Elijah Muhammad taught and every deed has its consequence, according to the Holy Qur’an, the book of scripture of the Muslims.
The Bible announces the fall of Babylon as a place for every foul spirit and unclean and hateful bird. This is America.
We say to you as the Bible urges, come out of her my people as her sins have reached to heaven and this modern Babylon, the United States of America, will be punished for her sins and wracked by divine plagues. Come out of the mindset, the practices, the lifestyles and lusts that permeate this society.
But understand, warning and truth can only benefit us if we accept it and follow divine guidance.
