It's not about Islam!
I keep hearing people try to blame the middle east on religion, lack of tolerance, economics and a myriad of other issues. Am I the only one who does not care what the "cause" is? Am I the only one that looks at history and sees that tyranny under any form must be destroyed before a nation is rebuilt?What should we be at war with?
I am not a fan of President Obama. If that as a shock to anybody, well I'm sorry if your heart stopped. Be papered for another shock! I agree with Obama that we ain't at war with Islam. As a Christian I am not at war with anybody's beliefs, yet with a clear moral imperative I can be at war with evil. As an American I can denounce evil incarnate. If that shows up as beheadings, immolations or selling children and women into slavery, then yes I know I should fight that evil.
Because of my respect and love of the Constitution of the United States of America, I have no right to tell people what they should or should not believe. I do have every right, no responsibility, to protect the rights of everybody. We are unique as a country because our rights are not derived at the pleasure of our government. Our government’s purpose is to protect the rights of the people (NOTE: I did not say "Americans") whose rights are given them by their "Creator." The idea being that because they are a sentient human, they have certain "inalienable rights, among these are the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness." (US Declaration of Independence, 1776). It is not relevant if you believe in an all-powerful Spirit of the Universe, the Great Pumpkin, a chain of natural events leading to life, or God. Your rights are established by natural law.
Our President and the media (including you Sean Hannity et al) have it wrong, Islam is not the problem, ISIS and it's like minded fellowships, who may claim Islam if they want, are the problem. Not because they are Muslim, but because their behavior is evil and unacceptable on this planet. Western society matured as a culture and put away the bruit force tactics of the dark ages. I do not rail against Islam, I raise my fist against the actions taken under the guise of a religious imperative to do these heinous actions. I don't care what their religious belief is, I care that 35 Muslims were burned to death, that 21 Christians were beheaded, that the going rate for a 40+ year old woman in Syria is about $43 US to own her as a slave and that mass-graves have been found with obvious organ harvesting having been committed. It matters not that the perpetrators are Islamic or Christian or Buddhist radicals. They are evil. We are at war, not with their ideals, but with THIER actions. It is the duty of civilization to stop this barbarism!
So stop telling me that I need to be at war with a theology.
Appeasement is not an option:
In no time in history has appeasement worked against evil. Only overwhelming force can conquer overwhelming evil. In the greatest speech never given, George C Scott (as General Patton in the movie "Patton") made a point that would have been valid in any time in History: "Now, I want you to remember that no bastard ever won a war by dying for his country. He won it by making the other poor dumb bastard die for his country." ISIS Claims to be a country, they hold territory. I suggest we show them enough respect to destroy them for their actions.
War is a horrible undertaking. It ought not be entered into lightly. But when the cause is morally correct, it should be prosecuted fully and completely. No enemy will lay down their hideous behavior without motivation. If we do not provide that motivation, they will never stop.
In World War II we participated with other nations to defeat 3 enemies. We did not stop until the enimies themselves said enough. After their unconditional surrender we, the world, helped them rebuild. We helped them develop economies that made the whole world a better place.
If you want to rescue the Middle East, using whatever force necessary to motivate the evil doers to set aside, not their guns, but their evil behavior, we can then work with them to establish economies that will benefit everybody. Talking about economic help before the total defeat of the enemy is insane.
To those who look to more intellectual bent, failure to destroy the enemies of cooperation and civility will result in a societal de-evolution. It is a natural condition that those who are more flexible, stronger and willing to cooperate will thrive. If we as a society choose not to destroy what is truly barbaric by any reasonable standard, the only possible result is self-destruction. When the peaceful refuse to stand up to oppression, the result is tyranny.
It is a matter of history that the immoral and violent minority will oppress the passive majority. It was true during the Spanish Inquisition, the Crusades and WWII. Why do we think anything will be different now?
Our president makes derogatory remarks about Christianity regarding things that happens during the Crusades. Forgetting not only the that Crusades were in response to hostile actions by a Caliphate, but also that society has come a long way since then, and that type of behavior is no longer tolerated. Unlike the current leadership of ISIS and al Qaeda who obviously think such barbaric actions are righteous.
Talking has never stopped a bully, and we can't run from this, September 11 proves they will come here. So we can fight and destroy them in their sandbox our ours. Remember they declared war on us, continued failure to actually respond with the full force of these United States is simply surrender to their tyranny. And that can only lead to your oppression - and based on results, more beheadings and immolations.
Gregor - Back from the brink! From there and back again. A spiritual Hobbits journey.
