Quote:
Originally Posted by silas777
This is a very sobering article on the 3 myths about, Islam-the religion of Peace, We will never go to war with China and how Russia is no longer our Enemy. Every person should read this and remember what our Constitution requires our President and Congress to do! Hillsdale College - Imprimis |
Firstly, he assumes that Islam is fixed and unchanging and that Islam itself is some static religious belief which vows to forever be fundamentalist in nature. It is true that many adherents of Islam wish to remain fundamentalist, but when I look at Christian or Jewish or any religious fundamentalist, what I see are the Amish, Mennonite, or even ultra Orthodox Jews who because they are so deeply and devoutly committed to their faith, they as a larger group will never be able to compete in the context of the modern world.
Will individuals bent on terrorist acts be able to harm us, of course, there is nothing to stop this but awareness and vigilance, and it is far harder for fundamentalist Muslims to harm us than our own home brewed terrorist and crazies. The concept of 'fight them over there so we don't have to fight them here' is pie in the sky nonsense, because after two major wars and occupations, military intervention into two other nations, we still have terrorist attempts right here in America. At least on the upside, we are better now at fighting them and even finding them here than we were before and those over there are in fact, over there and are little danger to us personally, unless we intervene over there.
Right at this very moment, much of the Muslim world is trying to progress despite attempts from more fundamentalist types to keep it fixed in some 19th century style of existence. America could do so much to encourage the Muslim world and the Islamic faith to come to its own reformation and come to easier terms with the modern world if we would encourage it. Turkey is just such an example.
Places where American culture has (pardon the expression) infected other cultures, we should note that people wanted Levis jeans, and Big Mac's, and a GAP store to browse through while sipping on a Coca-Cola. Ask most any youth what they would prefer, a night at the movies watching some Johnny Depp flick or to be stuck in some class forced to recite scripture.
I might ask you take a moment and read this young Egyptian mans personal blog, the last one he wrote before being taken into custody. I do not know if he is even alive still, but while reading it I must say, I was deeply moved. This is exactly the type of thing we could be encouraging and in my opinion we would be far better off and have a far more stable situation in the Middle East, if this type of sentiment prevails.
Free Kareem! - Kareem Amer: “Your Blessings, O Azhar!”
I also think it is fair to point out that the deeper we become entrenched in the Middle East over the past 30 years, the more violence we have seen towards us. There is absolutely a direct correlation to our presence and now our occupations of several countries and the amount of anger directed towards us. This isn't some abstract esoteric notion, as just ask yourself how you would feel if some foreign power occupied the United States, what actions might you consider of freeing yourself from such a thing?
Prior to 1979, we had very few issues with the Middle East but as our need for petroleum increased, so did our level of intervention and we have seen an escalation of resentment. Prior to this, we didn't have roving bands of Muslim terrorist seeking out the US to do us harm, most barely even knew of our existence beyond cursory mention. Since this region has the one resource the very existence of our society depends upon, conflict was inevitable.
Our use of their resources are what has led to their wealth and development and subsequently the rise in population. To combat this, we have supported dictatorial types in the region, most of whom were quite oppressive to their people, and thusly, we are seen as the cause of income disparity and the nature of the support of oppressive regimes.
Whether we like it or not or even care to face it, the US has played a large role in fomenting the current state of the Middle East, and religious ideologies merely play the role of scapegoat or rationalization to further one sides cause or the other.
As this author talks about the rise of China and the dangers this presents, this is true and not true in my opinion.
China is destined to take its role as one of the top global superpowers, but they are still a very centralized government and control is held tightly. When this occurs, you often end up with small groups of ideologues with delusions of grandeur and some pie in the sky notion of regional or even global hegemony. Much like us at the moment.
This presents huge problems, as it causes us huge problems, the first being that no nation on earth is so wealthy as to be able to afford a perpetual state of war and a civilization at the same time. Just isn't going to happen. China will ascend and reach a high level of development, then a plateau then likely a decline. That is if they pursue this bizarre pipe dream that our own Neoconservatives have, as after all, we have had decades to develop the massive economy we have, and even with our jedi masters of finance, were in a lot of trouble. Do you honestly think China possesses some wisdom we do not?
Russia, the great bear is now more of a wolverine, still dangerous but nothing as it once was. Its far more bark than bite and once again, this form of centralized governing of large and diverse regions has limits that eventually stifle growth and progress. Communism failed throughout the world and they are just now learning the democratic ropes, so I just don't see Russia as the great threat the author does.
The days of great empires are waning as the globe becomes more and more symbiotic every day. It is shrinking as we sit here and in part due to the ability to communicate via the internet in an instant, information has become the great leveler of playing fields. The desire for so many governments to have control over the net has dawned on many and one of the reasons people should fight so hard to keep it free. As whether we like it not, the world is becoming one, and I suspect in another 10 generations (if we don't kill ourselves first) will look nothing as it does today.
The author strikes me as very much stuck in 1999, and judging by his tone and demeanor, reminds me of Richard Perle in the 1990's. Everywhere over the horizon are great
potential threats that will one day exist to gobble us up and be the end of our society. Knowing what America has went through just to get to this point, with world wars, great depression, great recessions, pandemics, a civil war, and even an invasion of a once great superpower on our own shores, yet we persist.
For decades we look past our shores for that great evil while our own house burns down around us and it reminds me of a quote from Rabindranath Tagore,
Emancipation from the bondage of the soil is no freedom for the tree. While I realize this is a bit of an abstract analogy, I think you catch my drift.
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