2.02.2006

Here's the Problem

Somebody printed a political cartoon in a Danish newspaper, showing the prophet Mohamad wearing a bomb-shaped turban with a lit fuse. In response, armed militants stormed hotels and embassies, looking for foreigners to kidnap and/or kill.

It's an inconceivable behavior for us, in a country where whole races of people were denied their basic rights, and only a meager few threatened to take up arms. Instead, thanks to the leadership of Dr. King, we managed to resolve our difference peacefully, for the most part. Where today, many believe that 40,000 murders happen in abortion clinics every day. But all but the most fanatical believe that two wrongs don't make a right; that you must fight evil with good, not more evil, or you risk smearing the very thing you aim to protect.

Remember the furor over Piss Christ? Or Last Temptation of Christ? These people were outraged that the core symbol of their church was being defamed. They marched and chanted and wrote letters and made their voice heard. Most of us agreed that Piss Christ was stupid, and the Last Tempation of Christ was, at best, a mediocre movie made out of a vaguely interesting "what-if" consideration.

These things passed, we made our peace and went on our way.

Imagine if, instead, the Christian populace of the nation took up arms, stormed art galleries and movie studios, kidnapping artists and patrons, actors and directors, threatening to kill all involved unless somebody made a nationwide apology.

Most of us would look at that sort of behavior and write them off as cranks, even terrorists in this day and age. I mean, isn't that the same sort of ideologically driven behavior that led to the Oklahoma bombings?

Once you decide that it's okay to commit a sin to avenge or rectify a sin, you've lost the moral battle, and, I think, the good will of the general populace.

At least over here.

It's amazing to me that it's okay, applauded, even expected that these hooligans behave in such an immoral fashion. That somehow they are viewed as being "in the right".

I can't wait until we get ourselves off oil so we can get out of that godforsaken land and leave them to blow themselves up all day long.

posted by risser at 11:52

Nobody has anything to say.