October 06, 2004
Wednesday

I've been following the recent discussions regarding Muslims on Sitnews and also, since 9/11, in the newspaper, Time & Newsweek, CNN, Fox, etc. The idea of decapitating someone or stoning someone to death or raping someone or withholding medical supplies & food from sick and starving people is repugnant. Brutal dictatorships are repugnant. But, Muslims don't have a corner on this market. There are sick people everywhere, people who don't care about their fellow man, who will do anything to get what they want for themselves. Human life means nothing to them. This is so foreign to most of us that it's impossible to understand. Most people would chose peace over war. Most people would avoid confrontation if they could. The aid that America gives to Israel has apparently contributed to the hatred SOME Muslims have for America as has our presence in Afghanistan and Iraq. I have no idea whether our policy toward Israel is right, and from what I gather, many Americans aren't sure either. The party line is that we are protecting Israel from Palestine, that Israel would be overrun if not for us. So, the terrorists bomb the USS Cole & take down the World Trade Center because of our policy in Israel. In retaliation, we go into Afghanistan gunning for bin Laden. Still shell-shocked from 9/11 and getting antsy about Iraq's refusal to cooperate with UN resolutions, we end up in Iraq. At that point, everything that moved looked like a terrorist. The unbelievable had been brought right to our door. Maybe we should just pull out and leave Israel and the rest of the world to their own devices. The people starving in Africa and those being tortured by brutal dictators would have to do without our help, because helping one side would inflame the other. If everyone followed the Golden Rule, the world would be at peace. Lennon not Lenin was right.

Chris Elliott
Ketchikan, AK - USA

 

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