Re: Allah or Jesus?
I just hate getting emails that begin with the words, "I don't know if this
is urban legend or not, but it certainly is interesting" as it really means I've
got a bit of an evening to burn. This latest "story" from Rick Mathes was
just chaffing me, and I had to respond… the residue, of course, ends up
here on my website to catch stray Googlers.
I know that I should take the higher ground and ignore stuff like this, but
I just can't. So, in case you haven't been spammed with this one, you can
read a copy of it over on Snopes.
Hold on, let me set my box up here next to the light. That's better. Is
this thing on? Great. Can you hear me in the back? OK, fine. Let's begin…
How can any one kill another human being? The thought is so
incomprehensible to me, as it is to you and most people. However, we can
look back on history with wonder at how large groups of people agreed to
amass and murder other people. We don't call it murder… we'd use
a flaxen cord type of word, like war. But even that is too alarming, now…
So, I would like to propose a couple of "rules" that anyone can use to get
good, moral, civilized people to murder another group of people. Keep in
mind that these are not complete, but they are a start:
Rule 1. Since you can kill an animal, but not a fellow
human, you first need to dehumanize the people you want to kill. Give them
a label … it doesn't need to be one they use for themselves,
just something different from you. Call them "Jews" "Nigger" "Nazis" "Japs"
"Goops" "Communists" "Mormon" … Like I said, the label doesn't matter,
just as long as you establish that they are different from you,
you can then go about dehumanizing them.
Rule 2. Spread some stories or rumors about the group.
Once again, the stories don't have to be accurate or not, just the fact
that you spread some stories starts to arouse suspicion and FUD (Fear,
Uncertainty and Doubt).
Corollary to Rule 2. If the members of group live nearby,
it becomes difficult to demonstrate they are "bad", as good examples from
"the group" will end up refuting your propaganda. What you need is a quote
from isolated members or members of a fringe sub-group. All groups of any
size have splinter groups, and these extremists come in very handy as
anything they say can be used quite effectively at promoting this
un-education process.
Related to this Corollary. Religious groups, especially
old ones, have scriptures written in another language for people many
cultures before, and this is ripe for getting fabulous interpretations of
inflammatory rhetoric. It helps if you quote the opponents scripture
authoritatively … for instance, if you didn't like a group of people who
believed in the Bible, you could state that they believe in killing babies
by quoting:
"Thus saith the Lord of hosts, now go and smite [the city of]
Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have, and spare them not; but
slay both man and woman, infant and suckling." (1 Samuel 15:2-3)
For another example … Did you know that Jesus preached hatred and war? He
did. He said that his followers should hate his father and mother. He also
said that he came not to bring peace, but a sword. Of course every Christian
will say that I'm misinterpreting Jesus' mission of love, but if my goal
was to spread darkness to those who didn't know enough about
Christianity… well, I think you get my point.
Enough of this silliness … Let's not send any more emails that spread
such inaccurate and inflammatory stories … the world needs peace right
now, not more bloodshed.
I would assume that most people would know that out of the two billion
Muslims in the world, most don't interpret Jihad in this matter. For
instance, I quickly searched "Jihad" on Google and found this Muslim site
that translated this idea as:
"To strive hard for a better way of life or to fight to defend
one's life, property, freedom, and religion. It can also refer to attempt
to free other people from oppression and tyranny. Islam strongly opposes
Kidnapping, Terrorism, or hijacking against civilian targets, even at the
time of war."
But of course, if one wants to continue to keep support for war, go get
yourself an uneducated extremist, the likes as mentioned in this article.
(See the following for a bit of this background).
I mean, just as there are a group of people living in northern Arizona who
call themselves "Mormon" and say that true Mormons practice polygamy,
doesn't mean that all Mormons do. This is a splinter group, and enlightened
people will find out the truth before making such an absurd opinion. But I
guess the mass of Americans (and our media) are too busy for fact checking.
Of course we are concerned about extreme Islamic groups who want to kill
Americans, and we should be wary about such things. However, I think the
time has come for each of us to stop promoting hatred and start to become
more positive about trying to solve the awful situation we've found
ourselves in.
Now, I'd like you to go read Jim's article, Quagmire Accomplished
while I put this box away…
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