A Knight's Blog

Last night I watched what is arguably Leonardo DiCaprio's best film, Blood Diamond. The film deals with the issues in Serra Leone, when the depraved Revolutionaries force innocent children to become soldiers for their cause. I can't help but feel melancholy and overcome by the ending when Danny Archer (Leo) is up on a ridge watching the sunset, and mingling his blood with the red clay dirt. I have been to Africa and it has never left my heart. I feel each time I watch a film like Blood Diamond, a deep well of emotions erupts. I can't help but love the African people. Those I met during my trip to South Africa remain as faces, images in my soul. I long to be back with them, to live simply and to delight in the mere presence of such beautiful human beings. The Africans are free in a way that few Americans are. They are "awake," as Thoreau would say. They take in everyday, every breath and while they may not have our technologies that make due and seem to extr...

Sleep is the only remedy for my suffering. Only when I dream does the gnashing and eating away of my body cease to drain me. In the halls of God's Holy City I sit in sheer agony. My bones are kindled like flames, my face peels like a snake. Beneath the metal iron mask I see the vanguard of Jerusalem . Valiant men at arms bicker over just cause and fiscal loss. In the assembly, I feel the weight of the city; all those lives in my decaying hands. Oh if God would provide me a permanent regent, then I could recluse to my chamber and rest. Alas my fate is to reign. My sisters greet me with kisses during the day, and at night they draw knives seeking their prize. Oh Baldwin V, please stay alive! To you I wish to bequeath this hefty burden. Oh do I long for the days of old, when I was strong and capable of repelling Saladin's throng. Now I am reduced to a broken shell: one that stumbles and must be carried to and fro. I can't even attend the Mass on my knees, I must lay like ...

Beneath a mask lies a prison. Conceal beneath the steel veil I see hell all too well. Crusaders come with banners raised high, they bark and they tell lies. More is discussed about their lusts than how to deal with petulant dust and blood. Amongst a sea of murderers and usurpers are those who know God from the devil. Their eyes reveal a dismay and great pain at seeing the Holy City ruled like a political tool. From the shadows I mark these men as true pilgrims, they wade their way to The Holy Sepulcher, to see Christ's chamber. There I dare not draw closer, for my coat and my cross would cause outrage and horror. Marked by a green rood I march amongst the alleys waiting for the day of my doom. Saracens speak of the chastisement that awaits me in hell, but I rely on the mercy of the Most High, and pray he speeds me through this Purgatory. The bells chime, and the doves fly. A procession of clergy passes by, blessing the clean and cursing me with liturgies of hate. They tel...

For decades the actions of those in less civilized centuries have been scrutinized and considered barbaric. An example is the Crusades. Many historians say the Holy Wars were deplorable acts of zealotry. The consensus is that the Europeans were motivated by ambition and fanaticism. That they saw the Land of Milk and Honey and sought to exploit it. Their venture is depicted as a rash and uncalculated scheme leaning towards financial and political gain. However, those that makes these claims seem to have ignored the cost of Crusading and decades of planning. The truth is most who "Took up the Cross" lost lands, estates, and much of their inheritance. It was costly business to crusade and most of those who committed to the cause sold their 'stock' and went to the Holy Land nearly penniless. As for the Clergy who evoked the call to crusade, well they weren't naves. They knew about the Greek and Roman causes for war. They knew the implications of Just War, J...

Congratulations to Rick Santorum for an impressive feat in IOWA. I think it's interesting that Rick who was declared the underdog lost by only eight votes to Mitt Romney. Almost everyone believed this Super Conservative Candidate didn't have a prayer, and now it looks like he and Romney will battle for the chance to challenge Obama in the primary race.   After watching the IOWA Caucuses, I did some research on Santorum and discovered that he is a knight of The Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of Saint John of Jerusalem of Rhodes and of Malta. I also learned Rick's wife Karen happens to be a Dame (knight) of the Hospitaller Order as well. The Hospitaller Order is known for having established hospitals in the Holy Land during the Crusades. However, they are most famous for their incredible feat of repelling the Ottomen Turks at the Isles of Malta and Rhodes. What the Knights of Malta did was nothing short of a miracle, and if they hadn't pre...

Having watched the Iowa Debate, I have to say Michele Bachmann really stood out tonight. For the first time she really seemed elloquent, articulate, and confident all at the same time. She conveyed an energy that was intoxicating. Bachmann was the only candidate tonight that had the courage and boldness to confront major inconsistances in her contemporaries, in particular Newt Gingrinch. She looked like a Joan of Arc wielding her (s)words. Her debate with Ron Paul was epic! She made him look like a knave on the stage. I was impessed by her firm stance even during rebutals, that she held high her shield and did not budge a muscle. After the debate wrapped up, I began to asked myself is Michele America's White Knight? We've been living in a dark age for the past three years. We have watched the economy, job market, and values of this country fall. Our once great Capital has become Gotham City, a centeral hube for corruption at every level. What we need is a regime ...

Today marks the end of the eight year War in Iraq . It's hard to believe it was eight years ago that America suffered the greatest attack since Pearl Harbor . It's hard to believe our men at arms have been fighting in petulant desert all these years. Now the troops are coming home. The feelings are a mix of jubilance and despair. First we are thankful that many are returning to their families, that those brave and bold individuals can finally come home. But then we lament the deaths of all those who fought for the cause of liberty. What do those in their graves say to our Government that has forsaken the battle for freedom in Iraq ? What can the Obama Administration say to console all the mothers and family members that must now visit the tombs of their sons and tell them It's over, we have failed. No victory banner flies, no triumphant cries. Just somber hearts and lies meant to silence our cries. The war is over, but the struggle remains. Iraq remains in trouble, su...