a quickly written note asking how mad has the world become?
TWELVE PEOPLE WERE KILLED IN PARIS TODAY...
BECAUSE THEY DREW CARTOONS OF MUHAMMAD. We have recently read about the changes in the world under a new organization called ISIS, who tape their beheading of journalists, of the lifting of the heavy hand of terrorism by blowing themselves and others up in public venues like train stations and weddings. In a way, this crack in decency and human discourse once seemed to isolate certain parts of the world, and has now made all civilized nations unsafe. In the City of New York a wild man with an ax attacks 2 cops on the street, and all I can do is keep thinking about those angry and somewhat insane individuals who would even think of doing something like that. And yet, they now seem to have the whole world listening, trembling with fear of what may or may not lay ahead.
This revolution seems to be a triumph of terror over the minds of average man or woman with any human intelligence. In essence, on the surface it seems to be a matter of religious belief. In Indonesia and Iraq and Iran the caricature of Muhammad leads to death and destruction because a hit-list has now been placed upon political cartoonists who happen to publish a satirical magazine and journalists or average cops who just happen to be walking down a street. These people are not terrorists. They are murderers.
This revolution seems to be a triumph of terror over the minds of average man or woman with any human intelligence. In essence, on the surface it seems to be a matter of religious belief. In Indonesia and Iraq and Iran the caricature of Muhammad leads to death and destruction because a hit-list has now been placed upon political cartoonists who happen to publish a satirical magazine and journalists or average cops who just happen to be walking down a street. These people are not terrorists. They are murderers.
The political Right, of course, has already begun to use this recent Paris incident to pander for ethnic war; the fading American Left speaks wistfully about what ought to be done without coming to a conclusion. But neither seem really to care very much. There are other matters to divert us: The new Congress, the Affordable Care Act, abortion, drugs, various gurus of Wall Street giving Stock Market predictions, the religion of always being politically correct; while saying that it will be an all-hands-on-deck affair to correct the problem. These thugs call themselves freedom fighters but are in reality nothing more than political blow hearts, who talk about what kind of weapons are being used, our President indicates to the victims how sorry we are as a Nation that this has happened to them, and every American stands behind them; while on slow newspapers days the entire event vanishes from view until another one happens to burp back up, and the entire rap begins all over again along with the drumbeat of the same old familiar tune.
Like all countries ruled by totalitarians, these are people ruled by an oligarchy of the stupid.
What does that tell us about ourselves? Most major networks refuse to show an actual beheading of any journalist for fear of reprisal from the average American, who seem to be unable to see a sight like that without an upchuck or two. The lunacy of killing-sprees by people who want to kill is never seen and thus does not seem real, mostly due to the fact that we Americans seem to tender to be allowed to witness such events. Instead, we listen to newscasters attempting to tell us what has happened, always there to explain to us what is going on in order that we still remain feeling somewhat safe-and-secure. The tragedy is that this has now become our reality, graphically and horribly and violently without any of us having to actually witness it.
Thus, the question now becomes:
Should we live in fear?
The answer is, of course: No!
But all I have seen thus far is people gathering in mourning in places like Paris and London and New York and Washington, D.C. Where are the voices asking for action? When will there be young folks gathering together in an organization along the lines of a Peace Keeping Force under the protection of Armed Forces, going into Afghanistan and Iran and Iraq to educate and inform average Muslims about the American Way of Life? Instead, we have performance acts by our president and politicians and religious leaders blowing hot-air without any hint whatsoever of what action might be taken to stem-the-tide of absolute evil. We have chosen to stay behind the scenes only because it is much safer. And far more easier. We have yet to send the message out: We are not going to do to them what they have been attempting to do to us.
We ought to have begun our lonely fight a decade ago, believed enough in our cause to place our minds and energies before the might of tyrants and terrorists. They may have guns. They may have machetes. They may have money. As do we. We now need to win for those lonely men and women who feel that they have lost everything. We ought to wish that we could find some of them and say that we are sorry for not listening to them in their separation and solitude and fear. And that we are listening now, because what has been happening to them might soon be happening to all of us. And that is something worth fighting for through the teaching of human decency and the love of all humanity.
The opposite of love is not hate, it's indifference - Elie Weisel
Thus, the question now becomes:
Should we live in fear?
The answer is, of course: No!
But all I have seen thus far is people gathering in mourning in places like Paris and London and New York and Washington, D.C. Where are the voices asking for action? When will there be young folks gathering together in an organization along the lines of a Peace Keeping Force under the protection of Armed Forces, going into Afghanistan and Iran and Iraq to educate and inform average Muslims about the American Way of Life? Instead, we have performance acts by our president and politicians and religious leaders blowing hot-air without any hint whatsoever of what action might be taken to stem-the-tide of absolute evil. We have chosen to stay behind the scenes only because it is much safer. And far more easier. We have yet to send the message out: We are not going to do to them what they have been attempting to do to us.
We ought to have begun our lonely fight a decade ago, believed enough in our cause to place our minds and energies before the might of tyrants and terrorists. They may have guns. They may have machetes. They may have money. As do we. We now need to win for those lonely men and women who feel that they have lost everything. We ought to wish that we could find some of them and say that we are sorry for not listening to them in their separation and solitude and fear. And that we are listening now, because what has been happening to them might soon be happening to all of us. And that is something worth fighting for through the teaching of human decency and the love of all humanity.
The opposite of love is not hate, it's indifference - Elie Weisel
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