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Nice editorial in the Toronto Sun today
Tue, June 6, 2006
Long War Ahead
Some Apologists Contend Exclusion is Behind Terrorism
By Paul Jackson
You should never beat a woman, not even with a flower
-- Muhammad
Yes, I am somewhat well-versed in the teachings of the Prophet Muhammad, perhaps more well-versed than adherents of the Islamic extremist world terrorist movement so determined to destroy western democracies.
Certainly more well-versed than the terrorist suspects in Ontario who, if the charges are true, took advantage of our nation's freedoms and prosperity only to then allegedly plot to spread destruction and death throughout our society.
The western democratic world is so obviously pitted in an all-out defensive position against radical Islamic tyrants aiming to undermine us, it's hard to ponder how any rational individual would ignore the threat.
But some still do. We're urged to be calm, not to throw stones.
We're even urged to make amends for perceived sins of the past -- to confess the crusades were really an assault against Islam, rather than a legitimate defence as extremist Islamic forces were at the very doors of Vienna.
Now they are in our midst.
I note the quote above by Muhammad to show how perverted the course of Islam has become, somewhat like Christianity in the guise of some money-hungry TV evangelists.
If Muhammad so abhorred violence a woman should not be beaten even with a flower, a contention in which I believe fully, then why are women in Muslim nations forbidden rights their sisters in other countries hold without question.
It's a philosophy driven mad by some, just as Germany under Adolf Hitler's Nazis and the Soviet Union under Josef Stalin's Communists.
There's talk about a "clash of cultures," meaning the Muslim world either can't deal with the technological changes stemming from the rest of the world, or is fighting against the immorality of the rest of the world.
Well, no one -- not even the Hitlers and the Stalins, or the Mao Zedong or Pol Pots -- have been able to halt mankind's progress, no matter what forces they tried to muster.
So one doubts the likes of Osama bin Laden and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad will eventually fare much better. As long, that is, as we hold firm.
On the question of immorality, I tend to agree, having turned my back on Hollywood some time ago, but when basic human rights are denied to hundreds of millions in Muslim nations, there is a question there of immorality, too.
Some apologists -- and there are still a few of those lingering around -- contend 'home-grown' terrorists are that way because they have been excluded from mainstream society.
So who excluded them?
It's been my experience, and of my many friends of divergent creeds and cultures, mainstream society is more than willing to accept anyone who wants to join it.
No one needs to be excluded, unless they want to be.
It's a wide-open age in which we live.
Except if one is so intolerant they want to impose their totalitarian views on others.
In our mainstream society one can pick and choose just how to live: Anytime I see a photograph of the likes of Britney Spears in a newspaper, I turn the page. When I hear rap music in a bar, I walk out.
When I see New Democratic Party Leader Jack Layton on TV, I switch channels.
Western democracy is very exhilarating, unless the thought of freedom scares you.
Freedom -- and fairness -- scare some individuals, usually individuals with inferiority complexes who often turn into bullies as a defensive mechanism.
So what can we do to protect western democracy?
In Canada, we already started when we elected Stephen Harper prime minister, and when Harper made Stockwell Day public safety minister.
None of the fawning attitudes of former -- and failed -- prime ministers Jean Chretien or Paul Martin now.
In the U.S., President George W. Bush is a beacon of hope and courage compared to the likes of Al Gore or John Kerry.
In Britain, Tony Blair is a man of steel, as is Australia's John Howard. Angela Merkel is a far more stalwart leader in Germany than was Gerhard Schroeder.
What we must remember is it took us 12 years -- from 1933 to 1945 to beat Germanic Nazism, and and some 74 years -- from 1917 to 1991 -- to whip Soviet Communism.
This is going to be a long war and we must not waver
Tue, June 6, 2006
Long War Ahead
Some Apologists Contend Exclusion is Behind Terrorism
By Paul Jackson
You should never beat a woman, not even with a flower
-- Muhammad
Yes, I am somewhat well-versed in the teachings of the Prophet Muhammad, perhaps more well-versed than adherents of the Islamic extremist world terrorist movement so determined to destroy western democracies.
Certainly more well-versed than the terrorist suspects in Ontario who, if the charges are true, took advantage of our nation's freedoms and prosperity only to then allegedly plot to spread destruction and death throughout our society.
The western democratic world is so obviously pitted in an all-out defensive position against radical Islamic tyrants aiming to undermine us, it's hard to ponder how any rational individual would ignore the threat.
But some still do. We're urged to be calm, not to throw stones.
We're even urged to make amends for perceived sins of the past -- to confess the crusades were really an assault against Islam, rather than a legitimate defence as extremist Islamic forces were at the very doors of Vienna.
Now they are in our midst.
I note the quote above by Muhammad to show how perverted the course of Islam has become, somewhat like Christianity in the guise of some money-hungry TV evangelists.
If Muhammad so abhorred violence a woman should not be beaten even with a flower, a contention in which I believe fully, then why are women in Muslim nations forbidden rights their sisters in other countries hold without question.
It's a philosophy driven mad by some, just as Germany under Adolf Hitler's Nazis and the Soviet Union under Josef Stalin's Communists.
There's talk about a "clash of cultures," meaning the Muslim world either can't deal with the technological changes stemming from the rest of the world, or is fighting against the immorality of the rest of the world.
Well, no one -- not even the Hitlers and the Stalins, or the Mao Zedong or Pol Pots -- have been able to halt mankind's progress, no matter what forces they tried to muster.
So one doubts the likes of Osama bin Laden and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad will eventually fare much better. As long, that is, as we hold firm.
On the question of immorality, I tend to agree, having turned my back on Hollywood some time ago, but when basic human rights are denied to hundreds of millions in Muslim nations, there is a question there of immorality, too.
Some apologists -- and there are still a few of those lingering around -- contend 'home-grown' terrorists are that way because they have been excluded from mainstream society.
So who excluded them?
It's been my experience, and of my many friends of divergent creeds and cultures, mainstream society is more than willing to accept anyone who wants to join it.
No one needs to be excluded, unless they want to be.
It's a wide-open age in which we live.
Except if one is so intolerant they want to impose their totalitarian views on others.
In our mainstream society one can pick and choose just how to live: Anytime I see a photograph of the likes of Britney Spears in a newspaper, I turn the page. When I hear rap music in a bar, I walk out.
When I see New Democratic Party Leader Jack Layton on TV, I switch channels.
Western democracy is very exhilarating, unless the thought of freedom scares you.
Freedom -- and fairness -- scare some individuals, usually individuals with inferiority complexes who often turn into bullies as a defensive mechanism.
So what can we do to protect western democracy?
In Canada, we already started when we elected Stephen Harper prime minister, and when Harper made Stockwell Day public safety minister.
None of the fawning attitudes of former -- and failed -- prime ministers Jean Chretien or Paul Martin now.
In the U.S., President George W. Bush is a beacon of hope and courage compared to the likes of Al Gore or John Kerry.
In Britain, Tony Blair is a man of steel, as is Australia's John Howard. Angela Merkel is a far more stalwart leader in Germany than was Gerhard Schroeder.
What we must remember is it took us 12 years -- from 1933 to 1945 to beat Germanic Nazism, and and some 74 years -- from 1917 to 1991 -- to whip Soviet Communism.
This is going to be a long war and we must not waver
