Islamic, Christian, Hindu, and Jewish Fundamentalists share many common traits. As I patiently waited in line at the supermarket, an elderly lady behind me picked a morning newspaper out of a nearby rack and scanned the headlines touting a suicide bomber killing of several U.S. soldiers in Iraq.She forlornly cried, “Why does the world hate us so much?”I turned in time to see the elderly gentlemen behind her shrug his shoulders as a sign of bewilderment.Several others overheard the lady’s anguish but said nothing.
Truth is that the large majority of non-Americans don’t hate us. It may come as a shock to our collective egos but non-Americans do not sit around wringing their hands over anything American.They’re too busy worrying about their own families and trying to make a living.In the rare times they are confronted by America they will opt for their own culture.Why should that surprise us?Nationalism and pride in one’s own culture is common. They may think us weird or crazy, but they don’t hate us.
Obviously there are people out there who do hate us with such intensity that they are willing to die to kill as many of us as possible. We’ve labeled these people as terrorists. Unfortunately the number of terrorists may be growing.Although there are a number of nationalistic liberation organizations, the terrorists threatening U.S. and Western security are driven by Islamic religious impulses. In fact, we would do well to understand the danger inherent in all religious expressions.
Nothing stirs human emotions like beliefs associated with supernatural beings.Parents have even killed their children for religious beliefs (several cases were recently reported).Many preliterate people sacrificially killed their children on an altar to their gods and the same religious views justified the slaughter of their neighbors. Let my Christian colleagues feel a sense of superiority, we should remember that we have historically killed non-Christians and, incredibly, one another in the name of Jesus Christ.Millions of them.Religious systems generally justify the killing of others in the name of their deity.
True, the historical U.S. tilt toward Israel is a strong element in Islam’s terrorism, but even if we change that imbalance Islamic fundamentalists will continue acts of terrorism.And hatred will continue to beat in the hearts of Islamic fundamentalists even if Al-Qaida is eliminated.This is because Islamic fundamentalism’s hatred is driven by a deep fear of modernity. And Western boots on their soil intensify this rage!Western modernity, with its scientific worldview stresses secularism and the rights of individuals to choose their own values and life style.Many believe this undermines Islamic authority.It does.
Americans should be able to understand Islam’s view, since we have oodles of Christian fundamentalists also fighting modernity.This is our nation’s “little dirty secret” we loathe to acknowledge and confront.First, bombing an abortion clinics is an act of terrorism.Supposedly these are evil places operated by evil people and need to be eliminated for the sake of creating a Godly society. This is the same line used by Islamic terrorists.Second, Christian fundamentalists work to ban books and magazines as a means of protecting people from evil ideas. Islamic fundamentalists do the same.Third, Christian fundamentalists, like their Islamic colleagues, also fear science, since it refutes biblical literalism and undermines the church’s moral authority.Christian fundamentalists correctly view scientific evolution as undermining the authority of the Bible.
The modernist genie is out of the bottle and permeates and drives Western civilization. It liberates the individual and questions historic, taken-for-granted worldviews, replacing them with what most Westerners consider to be more accurate and useful views.Religious fundamentalists, of whatever brand, are deeply threatened by the modern worldview.No matter how many Saddams we displace, religious fundamentalism, wherever found and however disguised, is fertile breeding ground for the most lethal brand of terrorism.
Factzone: The truth about Kim Jong Il Kim Jong Il, the leader of the free world, has decided to move on to more fertile grounds, leaving with us just the memories of 8-color rainbows, singing Korean women and couple of nuclear weapons. But who was this man whose next ambition would have been to get the next Nobel Peace prize? Here are just a few facts you should know about.
World governments charged with criminal negligence (in response to Megaupload case) EARTH (thecheers.org) - Federal authorities of the universe have charged the governments of all the countries in the world as well as the operators actually in power in these countries with operating a criminal enterprise, the Galaxy warriors announced Today.
USA says on 2012-02-12 01:26:50 about gTMVuAlfIkfU
QYw5qW Yeah, now it's clear !... And firstly I did not understand very much where there was the link with the title itself !!...
Wilby says on 2006-06-09 02:52:57 about Hate you? Well, no YOU, per se...
From a citizen of a country who has bene brought up with the cultural imperialism of the US shoved down my throat any chance available, let me say, I do not hate American people - I certainly would not bomb them, torture them, steal their resources, make them adhere to the most base of economic liberalist policies (which ironically also enforce the laxing of rules which ensure we have a certain minimum percentage of our own TV and and cimema available to us - that would be a abbiuer to trade, wouldn't it? I mena, having your own culture??)...but i digress...no, it is not the American people I hate - in fact hate is such a disgusting word, I wouldn't use it for anything except celery BUT!!!
I would use the term 'extreme dislike' for your government. I couple that together with an extreme dislike for my own government who constantly kisses Bush's ass on anything the moron has to say.
I am completely aware that there are plenty of good, honourable Americans out there who I would willingly chew the fat with, but I feel exasperated that a woman in a supermarket can take a look at a newspaper, telling a story of how members of AN OCCUPYING FORCE are the unwitting victims of terrorism. I mean C'MON!!!!!
On the day of the 9/11 attacks, one lone woman on the day had the guts to say somethign along the lines of "this is a direct result of our own agressive foreign policies". That, to me, says it all.
There is cause and consequence, for every action has a reaction. For those who are in denial of this it is time to wake up - ignorance is not bliss, it is painful - for every day you live in ignorance you must live in painful confusion, trying to understand why you are being so wronged.
For us in the other parts of the world, we just want to be ourselves. Just because we are not American does not mean we do not have brains, interesting and wonderful cultures or the right to self determination. The wild west cowboys have gone too far - it's time to bring the cattle on home...
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