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murdered for the "crime" of having a broken hymen—a condition which doctors confirm happens to about 50% of females by accident. In Judeo-Christian and Islamic religions, killing in war has been divinely sanctioned, as has plundering, raping and destroying entire cities. At the root of the worst atrocities known to humanity, religion— based on divine doctrines magically communicated as the "Word of God" to male priests—has been supported by armies, courts of law and executioners. Even today, the rise of fundamentalist Islamic religion is a source of terror around the world and continues to enslave women in the most inhumane, brutal manner. In stark contrast, some modern theologians such as Sister Joan Chittister have a much different interpretation of the Bible, even suggesting Jesus was a feminist. From the official scriptures, it is clear that he rejected the rigid segregation and subordination of women of his time. Sister Joan has spent the better part of her 78 years writing over 50 books shining a spotlight on injustice, particularly the plight of women. "We are now at the place where men are running everything, which means that humanity is seeing with one eye, hearing with one ear and thinking with one half of the human brain. No wonder we're doing the things we're doing! We're bringing to the table only half the needs of the human race," she says. "e moment a woman comes home to herself, the moment she knows that she has become a person of influence, an artist of her life, a sculptor of her universe, a person with rights and responsibilities who is respected and recognized, the resurrection of the world begins." The Machine For over 4,000 years, patriarchal religious- economic systems have exploited human, animal, vegetable and mineral resources, systematically converting nature's energy into profit and power for few. is manmade machine has plundered the globe and shredded Mother Nature, turning "whales into dog food, ancient forest into toothpicks, and the oily black blood and metallic veins of the earth into nuclear missiles, beer cans and smog," write Monica Sjöö and Barbara Mor in their book, e Great Cosmic Mother (1987). e global assembly line forever churns out consumer junk and poisoned foods drowned in chemicals, transporting "goods" back and forth across the world. e machine itself is now replacing humans, as robots and artificial intelligence gobble up jobs...pushing more people to the bottom of the heap. We have more than enough resources for every human on the planet to have food and shelter, and yet millions of children go hungry every day, even in America. As corporations and politicians conspire to hoard spiraling profits and power, the masses are beginning to revolt. Yet, ironically, they are putting their faith in the very masters of the machine. Likewise, the past 4,000 years of patriarchal dominance have been characterized by war and economic exploitation. e global economy exists essentially as an economy of war, with virtually all national military budgets exceeding domestic expenditures. In 2015 the International Institute for Strategic Studies reported that the United States spent $597.5 billion on defense, which is almost 10 times the Russian budget of $65.6 billion, and four times more than China's $145.8 billion. To further illustrate the absurdity of our budgetary tragedy, the chart below shows that defense accounts for more than half of ALL spending in the U.S. Meanwhile, the current Trump administration is asking for even more money, a 10% increase in defense spending, to feed the outrageous militarized apparatus of war. Leaders use fear to terrify the masses into supporting their greed for money and control. Statistics plainly show the absurdity of this military shame. Women are more than 400 times more likely to die at the hands of their husband than from a terrorist; approximately 4,000 American women die each year from domestic violence, and fewer than 10 from a terrorist. For millenniums, men have patronized women and patted us on our heads, telling us not to worry—they would protect us. But in reality, they are the ones we should fear. Whether we are getting ready to fight, fighting others or fighting among ourselves, it makes no difference anymore. We live in a perpetual state of war. As Sjöö and Mor describe, "All humanity Source: OMB National Prorities Project 50 | GRAVITAS MAGAZINE GravitasMag.com

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