Excerpt from "Creature Storms" by Ron Clinton Smith

     "A country's no different than a person, is it?  It's made up of 'em and everything it does comes back on it.  Don't matter if you're American or Yugoslavian, the universe don't care.  We're filling out our karma card every second with the decisions our leaders make.  If they wrong some other people on our behalf, we're gonna pay for it, simple as that.  If you do wrong you suffer for it.  We'll be paying for that goddamn war for a hundred years, don't matter how they spin it.  Don't matter what you say or what kinds of tricks politicians play to get power, it's what they do and why that makes this place a living heaven or hell.  We still hadn't lived down what we did to the Indians, or slavery, shit.  We go slaughtering villages of people in Indochina, fucking with other people's governments, you don't think there's a spiritual price to pay?  Like I said, America don't get a pass just because it's America.  We killed all the people we were supposed to be helping over there.  Communism my ass.  Hate to break it to you little brother, but Jesus Christ taught communal living.  You call it whatever you want, but he told the rich to give what they had to the poor, remember?  If a man asks for your cloak give him your shirt too, right?  He comes back talking that shit they'll string his ass up.  This ain't no Christian nation, it's an Old Testament nation.  You say 'blessed are the peacemakers' and you'll get your ass shot off quicker than anything.  People don't know Jesus Christ in this country.  They like to pretend they do so they can club you to death with Him.  Pride's an awfully evil thing, little brother."