First thing I'm doing is bringing some old stuff over from MySpace, which has proven to be little more than an oversized music fan network. Enjoy.
Thursday, November 10, 2005
Double Standard?
Current mood:appalled
So I'm reading this news article today about how some dude on TV named Pat Robertson, who I vaguely remember hearing about somewhere, is telling people not to ask God for help. Apparently, since they voted against having intelligent design taught in their schools, they're not allowed to ask God for help the next time disaster strikes, according to this dude. This is a problem.
A bigger problem is something I read that was barely mentioned in the article. Pat Robertson made a public call for the assassination of a foreign official. See this link for a quote about that: http://mediamatters.org/items/200508220006
That's a really big problem. Here we are AT WAR with terrorists, and one of our own citizens is starting up with the same tactics we're trying to prevent in other countries.
Let's compare:
-Muslim extremists, who seem to ignore or explain away the parts of the Koran that say not to kill people, get told by their religious leaders to go kill the people they don't like.
-Christian extremists, who seem to ignore or explain away the parts of the Bible that say not to kill people, get told by their religious leaders (in this case, Pat Robertson) to go kill people they don't like.
No wonder parents in Pennsylvania voted against having religious ideas taught in their schools. When the religious thought that is on display for all to see, i.e. The 700 Club which has been carried by ABC family, is preaching counter to the belief system it claims to espouse, people want to distance themselves from it. Especially when that publicly displayed thought is, "that guy seems dangerous, and 'could' pose a danger to us. let's get rid of him before he gets the chance."
Self defense is not a pre-emptive strike. There is no clause in "Thou shalt not kill." that says "unless the guy is a possible danger". Self defense is a response to immediate danger. You have to actually be under attack before you can even use the word counterstrike.
If people started attacking countries and individuals just because they were well equipped for destruction and had a track record of attacking without proper cause; the United States would be the one under fire.
Oh.
Wait.
We are.
You know, I heard there was some effort to try to disrupt this kind of thinking. It was a really great idea, what was it called? Oh yeah, the WAR ON TERROR. Where we find the people who attack without just cause, and try to keep them from attacking unarmed, innocent people. Part of this program is to take the people who are willing to kill with a word from their religious leaders, and get them to stop killing.
It just so happens there are people like that who don't wear turbans. They don't live in Afghanistan, and they don't hate America. Or at least what they think of as America. These people happen to live here. They're probably as white as I am, may even have a beard like mine, though a small group of them will shave their entire head. They're just as ready to kill for their misguided ideals, and just as easily influenced by their misguided idealists.
What happens when they attack? Do we finger the ringleaders of the local militia? Do we name their clerics who stir them up to violence?
What do we do with our religious leaders who claim to represent a religion based on truth, forgiveness, and personal responsibility? What do we do when those leaders preach hopelessness, murder, and intolerance?
We give them a TV show.
Here's the link again for that article about Pat Robertson and his call for assassination.
http://mediamatters.org/items/200508220006
On that page you'll find a link to a petition to help get him off the air.
There are many people in this world who are just looking for someone to listen to. Let's talk to them about something good, before they tune in to this madness.
-Sean
3:56 PM
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