Risk is a strategy board game of diplomacy, conflict and conquest. That's what the Wikipedia entry says about this game. I remember playing it a lot as a student. It was great fun and there was a good sense of achievement in beating your opponent and owning the world.
The problem comes when the game of Risk is played for real. The
current President of the United States, who is at heart a wheeler-dealer, is
doing exactly that. Driven by ego and self-interest with a smattering of
arrogance and an incredible self-belief, he is trading on a worldwide basis. His
trades result in death.
Take for instance the decision to effectively close US AID. I
get that some of the work appeared to be too left-wing for the current
government. And I understand a desire to remove wokeness from the agenda (I'm
not actually opposed to that). But the results of playing Risk with people's
lives is just that. That decision to revoke international aid has already
resulted in children not receiving their TB injections. It will inevitably end
with death by starvation, sickness and poverty.
Risk is also being played between nations. The losers are
likely to be Ukraine and Palestine. The strong united front established between
nations and via NATO towards Russia is already being undermined by the new U.S.
government. The thought that Gaza might become a Trump Riviera where
Palestinians are outlawed is abhorrent.
I'm concerned that many of my Christian friends are being
duped into a new Christian Nationalism (primarily white and middle class) which
has little to do with the gospel and nothing to do with the poor. Egoistical
triumphalism is winning the world war at this moment in time. I very much hope
that the push back, which is beginning to be seen, develops into something that
supports and promotes those in need. And stops the madness of Risk on a
worldwide scale.
