At the United Nations, where nothing ever really gets done, Russia is calling for a worldwide coalition to crush terrorist groups wherever they may be found.
The timing of this ringing call to crusade is particularly odd when you consider that Pope Francis just left the United States, where his parade took him close to the United Nations building.
Used to be, popes issued the call to crusade, instead of spreading a “universal message of love.” It didn’t always work out, either.
Back then, say, prior to 1600, the Turks, who were the ISIL of their day, would invade Hungary or menace Cyprus, and the pope would call for a crusade.
Most of the time, it fell apart fast. The Venetians would be cutting a secret trade deal with the Turks, the Spanish would sail too late to be of any use, the French would be too broke and the English were just too darned far away. The Hungarians or the Cypriots were left on their own with predictable results.
And that was back when a pope could promise to forgive all your sins if you showed up in your armor and said, “Where’s the crusade?”
Sometimes, it worked. In 1571, a fleet of Christian ships drawn from Spain, a crusading order of nights and a number of Italian city-states defeated a Turkish fleet. It slowed the Turks but didn’t stop end the conflict. It wasn’t until the 1600s that Christian European fleets would regularly defeat the Turks.
The Russians will find they have as much trouble putting together a crusade as any pope ever did, back in the armor and crucifix days.
Popes, if you want to be cynical about it, may have called so loudly for crusade because Istanbul was not very far from Rome. Russia, too, sits on the edge of the Muslim world. No matter how right-wing loony you are, you can’t seriously believe that Oklahoma is going to fall under Sharia any time soon. It is, however, a real possibility in some places that have been considered at least nominally “Russian” for the last few centuries.
Can Russia lead the new crusade? Will America join, not lead? Can such a crusade hang together long enough to strike the blow? Who will pay? Whose money, whose blood? How long before someone begins calling the worldwide effort a path to one world government, the New Order and the end of NASCAR as Alabama knows it? How long before “Obama is kowtowing to Putin?”
Crusading is hard work. That’s why the popes got out of the business. It’s easier to speak about “love” and to wave to the crowd than it is to forge one sword out of many nations. The Russians have raised the call. Let’s see who answers.
Marc Munroe Dion is a nationally syndicated columnist. Dion’s latest book, “Marc Dion Volume I,” is a collection of his best 2014 columns and is available for Nook and Kindle.