Your fatalistic streak for hopeless justice reminds me of Braveheart .
Lately I found out that Mel Gibson made the movie Passion of Christ. I was kinda shocked to find out that all my american idols seem to be religious fanatics. I generally find this trend in America frightening. I mean I do tolerate belief, having grown up in a muslim quarter I quite early learned to cope with that. And everyone who has the "live and let live attitude" really is no problem to me. I even like endless debates about religion but still this fanatism which evolves from the arabian/western conflict is kinda startling. I dont really know if religion is worth that and I hope in the future that americans do find another cultural identity than only feeling united when Joyce Meyer speaks with her Botox lips or another war is waged.
Religion can be used and abused and frequently is, the west vs. arab thing is relatively recent and I think a result of the blundering and bad way that the end of the cold war and post-communism rolled out after 1989, I'm not sure how the middle east became such a focus during the end of the cold war that it remains so, so significant, some of it is as old as the hills, for instance Britain in Afghanistan goes all the way back to world war one and earlier.
Christianity as a politically useful ideology plays a part in that but played a part in the anti-communism of the US in its campaign against the USSR, something which I think underestimated until you watch a lot of the news reel footage in which they are talking about "godless communists" and making excuses for fascists and nazis even as useful against the "red menace" or containing it.
Although is that Christianity? There's always going to be a difference between the official and alternative or radical critics of the official. Jesus was one example of that even in his interaction with the religious authorities of the day and the zealots.
Gibson is odd when you check out his background and his father, who is much more of an extremist than he is, leading a small faction of ultra-traditionalist reactionaries (who think that Benedict is too liberal, WTF?)