Regardless of where you find yourself on the political spectrum, it has to be very clear this week that what we are dealing with is not a matter of what we have done, or what we can do to make things better. It's not about our foreign policy, or our secret prisons. And it certainly isn't about trade policy or oil. It is, quite simply, about who we are.
The president of Denmark has rightly stated that he will not apologize for his country's freedom of the press. Many Muslims across the world have demanded such an apology, and have resorted to violence to emphasize this demand. So if we do apologize for our freedom, they'll go away, right? Wrong.
Look at any news program today, and you will see the real face of radical Islam. This religion of peace has been hijacked by zelots who see two options - their way or the highway. And they don't heed to their own tenets, much less the pillars of western society; freedom of the press, freedom of religion, the pursuit of happiness. All they see is death to the infidels, all they want is such.
Guess what kids, there is a sizable group of fanatics that want us dead. Period. They don't care if we voted for Nader or Buchanan, they don't care if we plant trees or smokestacks. They don't care if we drive Hybrids or Hummers. They hate us. Not for what we have done, but for who we are.
1 comment:
Don't believe everything Bill O'Reilly tells you. There have always been and always will be radicals, but do you honestly believe that these people hate us just on principle (would suicide bombing be so prevalent if their hatred was based solely on principle?) They hate us for the effect we've had on their lives, on their society and culture. And their is merit to their hatred (to their feelings of hatred, not their actions - there is never any merit to indiscriminant violence). Saying "they just hate us" leaves no room for healing. It leaves room for nothing besides seperatism or war.
In the past, seperatism was a fine solution to problems like these since there was plenty of room for us all to live in without running into each other. These days the preferred solution is War, but only because seperatism is not an option anymore. We need their oil (and Exxon and Chevron can't post record profits if they have to get it fairly or peaceably). If the Middle East was really just a big desert and there was no oil to be taken or money to be made why would we even give a fuck? We would let them live their lives peacefully and we ours.
Since 9/11 though everyone thinks they all need to be exterminated out of revenge or fear of more attacks. Granted, those are both good reasons, but it's not like they flew planes into the financial belly of the proverbial beast just on a whim. They did it to show us what it is like to have selfish egomaniacs majorly fuck up your pleasant view of the world; which is precisely what powerful people here have been doing to them for decades in order to steal as much stuff from under their land as possible. It's because we let Exxon and Texaco and the Military be our ambassadors that they are so pissed. It's because Coke and McDonalds have been thrust on them to satisfy the greed of their politicians, just like our politicians let it happen out of their own greed. "We the people" on both sides are suffering due to the greed of those with the will to power. 9/11 wasn't about a ferocious bully picking a fight with us, it was the nerdy weakling kicking the bully in the balls when he wasn't looking. A cheap shot, yes, but not without provocation. If only the citizenry would commit to trying to understand them instead of trying to hate them right back we could get on a path to repair the damage that's been done, but as long as we believe what the people who benefit from the situation want us to believe we only make it worse and put ourselves in more danger of continued violence.
Hatred against hatred breeds more hatred. Only through mutual understanding and respect can we hope to acheive the peace that radicals on both sides try to convince us is possible through war.
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