Refusing to Live in Fear...

Okay...I wrote the following in response to an email I received.  In it, it was telling us to "remember to vote in November" because now, schools in Great Britain and elsewhere were taking teaching of the Holocaust out of their curricula in order not to 'offend' Muslim students.  I looked it up immediately on Snopes.com...and of course, found out that it isn't completely true as written...but something that was extrapolated and blown up by the British tabloid (read: "yellow" ) press.  Thanks to Snopes.com for the wonderful information they provide...the info that prompted this particular rant can be found at http://www.snopes.com/politics/religion/holocaust.asp.  So here we go...

Fortunately, you don’t have to worry about this one…it’s not true.  ONE school in the U.K. pulled the Holocaust from its curriculum, not because it would offend Muslim students, but because they feared an anti-Semitic backlash against their Jewish students.  It was just the one school…and it was quickly remedied…but the yellow journalism of the British Tabloids trumpeted that this was going to be all over the country.  NOT TRUE.  Right now, the Holocaust is required teaching both in the United States and in the U.K., in all schools, in all grades.

The attacks on the Towers were committed by a small group of RADICALS, who happened to be Muslims.  I do not personally judge all Muslims by this atrocity, no more than I judge all Christians by the fact that Timothy McVeigh called himself a Christian.  We  have to fight hard not to give in to the fear that some folks in the world would have us give in to.  I have personally known many, many Muslims in my life…and I have consistently found them to be lovely people…full of warmth and hospitality, and ready to help in any situation.  Their kindness and generosity has always been an inspiration, and far from hating them, I find myself wishing that we could be as kind and generous as most of them are. 

There are nutters in every group in the world…whether religious or secular, any group you get into will have a couple of people who have no “governor” in their heads…no personal conscience or good judgment that will stop them from doing radical, stupid and harmful things.  Do we hate and fear the Postal Service because some of their number have gone na-na and killed lots of people?  Do we hate and fear high schoolers for the same reason?  The Boston Strangler was a Catholic…do we hate and fear them?  Now, we have a president who spent some time in a Muslim country as a child, and was schooled (briefly) in a Madrassa.  He has been perfectly upfront about it, not seeking to hide it in any way.  We cannot seek to find a causative relationship between these facts and the fact that the Towers were attacked by Extremist Muslims.

The only danger we are in now is from our own fears.  Any extremists who might wish us ill don’t have to spend a dime or give their lives…they have our fear to make them happy.  Every time an extremist sees Americans lose ONE MORE FREEDOM in pursuit of “security”…they smile.  Their extremism is based on their jealousy and hatred of the American way of life, and of our Liberties.  It’s like a caged animal who tries to bite the hand of someone on the outside…when your own liberty is non-existent or dependent on despots, then of course you’re going to dislike everyone who isn’t in the cage with you.  These extremists are like caged creatures…trying to bite, trying to destroy anything and anyone that represents a freedom that THEY DON’T HAVE.  These people live, they thrive on our fear…and we must stop feeding them. 

I’m not suggesting that we not protect ourselves…but we have to do it within reason, and we MUST STOP giving into all of this fear.  There are people within our own country who thrive on that fear, because it enables them to enrich themselves and their buddies at our expense.  Modern life is dangerous…but that doesn’t mean that we have to consume ourselves with fear.  Life is to be lived…and would a loving God have given us such a beautiful world and such wonderful families and friends if all we were to do is to be consumed in fear and hatred?  I don’t believe so…and I refuse, as an American Citizen, to live in fear.  I will take intelligent and necessary precautions…but I will not spend my every waking moment worrying about who is coming to get us…or worrying that the childhood education of a President makes him a terrorist, or even someone who will give in to terrorists.  I don’t believe it.  I don’t believe that Islam is a religion of evil or menace, either…no more than I believe that Christianity, (which has done some damned crazy things in the name of religion throughout history) is inherently evil. 

I’ve read the Koran…I know what it says…and I know that Muslims believe in Peace as much as we do…and that they and their families crave it the way I believe all normal humans do. I cannot speak to the mindset of extremists…for they are aberrations of humanity…something so far outside of normal that no one can predict or assume what they will or will not do.  We have seen many, many cases of horror on our own soil and on the soil of the world, committed by American Citizens…and yet we do not fear and hate ourselves, nor should we. These are all cases of extremism…and just because they yell loudly, chant “Death to America” or surge in seemingly endless numbers doesn’t mean they are a majority.  They are a minority…in the religion of Islam as in Christianity…and we should not continue to give them the credence that builds their spirits. 

Their biggest recruiting chip is the fear of the American people…and that of the people of the World.  Our refusal to give in to the fear they engender doesn’t make them stronger…far from it, it weakens them in mind and spirit until perhaps even they will be able to see that their cause has no traction.

Refuse to give in to the fear…refuse to be cowed.  Sure, there could always be another attack…from them, or even from within our own borders…but there’s no way to predict it…and if we can’t predict it and we can’t change it…then why should we fear it?  What happens, happens.  Our greatest fear should be that we will become a people so destroyed by fear and caution that we will no longer represent that “shining city on the hill”…that we will no longer provide the example and the hope of and to the rest of the world, and to future generations.  Would we be remembered as a proud, strong, free people?  Or will they remember us as a people who once had the right idea…but surrendered it in a fit of fear and loathing?  Will we live the life we’ve been given, or will we allow a small portion of the population to control where we go and what we do, simply because we are afraid?  Will we enjoy every bit of the wonderful life that we have, or will we slink into our graves, a beaten and a fear-conquered people?

It is up to us…and I know what I will choose.  Do you?

"Those who would give up Essential Liberty to purchase a little Temporary Safety deserve neither Liberty nor Safety”…
(attributed to Benjamin Franklin)

Remembering September 11 : Different is NOT evil...

You say you will never forget where you were on September 11…but I will never forget the lessons I learned at the knees of my parents and in school, about the proud, brave people who first plied these shores, and the proud, brave people they found when they got here.
 
These people had been repressed in Britain…France…Germany…Spain…other places in Europe. Repressed not because they were criminals…or bad people…or terrorists…but because their beliefs in God were different from those in power. Read that carefully…these people had done nothing wrong…they merely didn’t believe as the leaders of their countries believed, and that was enough to buy you at the least, torture and misery; and at the worst, death.
 
The people they met when they set foot on these shores did not know what to think of these creatures…but although there were altercations from time to time over food or land, the Native American Indians never punished anyone because of their different beliefs. In fact, many tribes took what they learned from the Old World Settlers and incorporated it into their own belief systems. It wasn’t hard for them to understand the concept of One God…they believed that the God of the Indians, the Great Spirit, Wakan Tanka, was the same as the God of the White Man. Just because the settlers called Him by different names didn’t mean that He wasn’t the same, and this concept was broadly accepted.
 
All people who believe in a God of any sort believe that he (or she!) is omnipotent and omniscient. If this is true…then there really is only ONE GOD. My South Asian neighbors are polytheists; they have many Gods and Goddesses in their Pantheon…but there is still a main Creator God, whom they call Vishnu. My African brothers and sisters call him by many names, depending on where they’re from and what their belief system is. My Muslim friends call him Allah…not because (and please pay close attention here, this is IMPORTANT) he is a different God from the God of the Christians…but because Allah is the name with which they address God in their tongue.
 
What is it about Christians that makes them think that they have a corner on the Truth? A monopoly on God? When this great country was founded on the principals of freedom of Religion (and from it, too!), why is it that we in the modern day are so ready to surrender one of our dearest principles just to keep a mosque from being built?
 
First of all…the mosque is NOT at “Ground Zero”. It is several blocks away. I fail to see how this is an insult to anyone. Secondly…Muslims were amongst the folks who died in the towers…so when we’re spending today mourning all of those poor souls, HOW ON EARTH can we ignore the Muslims among them? Thirdly…and this is critical…GROUND ZERO IS NOT HALLOWED GROUND. If it is, then so is every highway, every bridge and many of the homes in this country, since Americans have died in/on these too. Ground Zero is a cemetery, true…and certainly there are things that would truly be inappropriate to build there; a Gas Station, a Casino, a Race Track…Trump Towers. But a mosque (in addition to being a community center) is a place of worship. Just because it’s not a Christian Church doesn’t mean it’s not a church. What is more appropriate than a place of worship to occupy that place?
 
As to the connection between Islam and the brain-addled, fringe radicals that took down the towers…well, they’re as alike as chalk and cheese. We don’t hate all Christians just because several amongst their number have made utterly stupid statements in the press, and we don’t hate all Christians just because one of their number killed 168 people at Oklahoma City. Timothy McVeigh considered himself a Christian…and yet, instead of blaming all Christians, we point to the fact that he was a member of a Militia movement; a RADICAL. Blaming all of Islam for the actions of these particular idiots would be the same…and not allowing a mosque to be built on a piece of land that is near the fallen towers and not on top of them would be even worse.
 
The fact is, if you want terrorism, you need look no farther than the Bible. People who considered themselves Godly were hacking each other to pieces rather frequently. Christians believe that God created Humankind…and if that is so, did He not create the Muslims as well? Are they not Children of God, just as much as any Christian? Any Jew?
 
We, as Americans, have taken a lot of hits to our reputation in the World in the last decade or so…there are many situations and images which have put the lie to the very principles upon which this Country is founded…will anyone forget where they were when the photos of the insane degradation and human cruelty at Abu Ghraib came out? Was that Christian? Was it Godly?
 
Wouldn’t we feel wronged, horribly wronged, if the Muslim world were to infer our individual characters from those of the knuckle-dragging little cretins who wore the uniforms of the United States in that hellhole? And yet, they could…I expect many did. But that is every bit as unfair as us inferring the nature of Muslims from that of the Muslims we’ve met on the 6 o’clock news…those who blow themselves and others up for glory. These people are aberrations…just like Timothy McVeigh was.
 
Muslims have been here in America for a long time, and yet…did any one of us stop to think about the kind of people they were before September 11^th? Did we ever take notice of the charity they do (not only to Muslims, but to many different agencies and groups)? Did any of us have Muslim friends? And on that day…that horrible day…did any of us stop to think that perhaps the people who flew those planes into the towers and into the fields that day were not from ANY ‘normal’ group…for people like this would be reviled in any truly Godly group or any truly Free Country.
 
No…the media smelled anger and blood on the wind, and fanned it into a flame with ignorance…and we bought it. There were Mosque burnings and defacing…attacks on innocent Muslims…anger and threats of Terrorism to avenge an act of Terrorism. Our President, while presenting a brave front to the country, failed utterly as a human being by hanging the sins of a few incorrigible miscreants on an entire country, on an entire Faith; and we, angry, hurt and confused…we followed him.
 
Ah, yes…Faith. It’s interesting to note that the people who feared the worst and thought the worst of Islam are amongst the same people who consider their Faith the strongest. People who believe that the God of the Christians (as though he’s different from the God of the Muslims or the God of the Jews or the God of the Kalahari Tribesmen) is Omniscient, Always Right and Destined to Win at the End of Days still found their faith foundering in the face of this terrible attack…but did they turn the other cheek, as exhorted to in their own Holy Book? No…they called for a war…not on a Country (at that point, we were at war in at least two) but on a people and on a faith.
 
Many Christians are quick (especially nowadays) to consider themselves victimized by the mere mention of something as innocuous as “Happy Holidays”, even where no insult was intended. They’re convinced that Christianity is under attack, the reality of which has never been accurately established. How do they think that Muslims feel when the reality of the attack on their faith is so obvious? How much Faith does someone really have when they’re so afraid of new ideas that they constantly spew hate and protest the rights of a group just because it isn’t their group…and want to destroy that group’s right to build their own place of worship, just because of some perceived connection to terrorism?
 
My Father was a United States Marine…my brothers and my husband are too. Like many Americans, my family goes back to the beginning of this great experiment in religious freedom…this America…and has fought and died on Her side more times than any of us can even count. I consider myself as committed and resolute a Patriot as any Tea Party member, as any family member of anyone lost in the towers, as much as anyone at Fox News (maybe more so, in truth!). Far from being insulted by the potential for a mosque near ‘Ground Zero’ I’m extremely heartened by the resilience of the American Spirit and the way that this mosque situation illustrates it.
 
Growing up, I was always warmed by what America represented…what She offered. She offered comfort to the Oppressed; Freedom to those who had been denied it; a path to God for those in whose path had been placed obstacles. Whatever someone was, whoever someone was in the Old World, they could be anyone or anything they wanted to here. This was the New World…a place that was created out of the best ideas, and whose war against the worst ideas was constant and watered with the blood of Patriots.
 
Granted that strength of purpose, so many amazing things have been created and committed in the name of and within the boundaries of this America. Would we stop this now? Would we surrender our highest principles for this reason? For ANY reason? NO! Until now, we have not…we cannot…WE MUST NOT. The blood of those who fought and died for these very principles calls on us all to remember the importance of them.
 
It’s easy to remember one’s principles when they are not being tried…the true test of the strength of our resolutions, the courage of our convictions is when they are tested…especially when they are tested on that self-same ground that we hold dear. The people who died in and around the towers were not heroes. This is not a sacrilege…merely a statement of fact. I daresay they would not have chosen to die in the towers if given a choice.
 
The real heroes were those who did their job on a day when all the rules were changed by several planes…the Police, the Fire Brigades, the Rescue Searchers. These are people who knew the job was dangerous when they took it, but who could ever have guessed to what extent when they each pinned on their individual badges?
 
These people and the warriors who for centuries have fought on the ground of this country and others to maintain the principles we hold dear…these are the true heroes. But if someone had told them that the place and circumstances of their deaths would be used to deny people their rights to one of our most dearly held concepts…that of Religious Freedom…what do you think their reaction would be? No one can say…but my belief is that any heart that so treasured Freedom that it was willing to give its own life for it would be disappointed to see us use it for such a base purpose.
 
Let us not disappoint those who have fertilized Free soil with their remains…let us not prove ourselves unworthy of the beliefs and concepts of those who came before. Let us understand that we are Americans…we are strong enough to withstand the sight of a Mosque in such a special place…or any place. Let us find once again that amazing sense of community that filled us in the days immediately following the disaster…when we had realized, thanks to a harsh lesson, that Human Life is Fragile…and everyone’s life is unpredictable. When we saw each Man and Woman as Brother and Sister, and when we realized that America is more than just the sum of Her parts…that we were and are a Country…A Nation…a Spirit. That day, all of us as Americans were annealed in the furnace of Tragedy and became Burnished Gold.

Next September 11^th, instead of remembering the sorrow and the pain, let us remember that.

And So It Begins...

Hello All!
 
Well, this is a new one for me…I decided that instead of subjecting my poor, patient husband to continued rants over the dinner table (and other inconvenient places) I would get out my daily squidgees in a blog.  I have much to say, as we all should.  Tickets are available for a seat in the handbasket to hell, although I like to think that we’re not too far gone just yet.
 
Much of this may seem incomprehensible (or perhaps if you love me you’d say "stream of consciousness").  At any rate, Life is a hell of a voyage, and you’re all invited to grab an oar and row along with me!  Those who know me will shake your heads knowingly…those who don’t may shake your fists.  Both are okay by me…all I really want is to remind everyone not to go gently into that good night.  It is incumbent upon all of us to
 
think
care
strive
reach out
fight
learn
distrust
trust
find
ask
teach
savor
experience
love
 
with everything we’ve got.  No guts, no glory, right?
 
Lest it sound like I’m trying to fashion myself the "Guru on the Mountain", be assured I’m not.  I can’t EVEN take myself seriously enough for that.  I’m just a human who has become disheartened at the state of things and intent on doing my wee bit to make things better.
 
You’re all welcome to comment, and there will be no censorship (at least not any of mine… Blogger.com may feel differently; and since they’re our hosts here, please have a care and govern yourselves accordingly!)  I believe in looking at all sides, even when folks disagree with me.  As a matter of personal preference, I must admit that with so many things nowadays being unnecessarily ugly, I’d prefer that such disagreement be as respectful as can be managed, and I will endeavor to hold myself to the same standard. 
 
Mind you...that doesn't mean you can't use profanity...I've got a mouth like a stevedore myself (anyone who knows me knows this, unless they're a child or a senior citizen...well...SOME senior citizens!) I really believe that language is what it is, and there is no such thing as BAD language. 
 
My idea about respect and kindness and courtesy has less to do with the language used and far more to do with the motivation, y'know?  I’d love it if this site could be a wee oasis in the desert of well-considered thought (God, I love it when people THINK!) humor, respect, intelligence and free people.
 
The world is still a truly amazing place, never doubt it.  It’s never as bad as we are told, and never as good as it is capable of being.  It is also positively NEVER dull…and if you find it so, then you’re just not paying attention!  I believe that there is great need for revolution…of thought, of action, of  our willingness to go along with the same ol’ same ol’.
 
Please note that all entries in this blog are strictly the opinion of the author (when it comes to comments, who knows?).  While you are free at all times to disagree with my opinion, I will ask that you respect my right to express it, as I will respect yours. They can have my First Amendment rights when they pry them out of my cold, dead intellect…and not before.
 
Well, that’s all the wisdom I can manage for today without making my head hurt (probably yours as well!).  Take care, keep in touch…and remember:
 
Never give up, NEVER SURRENDER!
 
Kiwanan…
 
Eneketasen
 
(quick note for anyone who cares…Eneketasen is Chumash Indian for "Red Woman", and Kiwanan is  Chumash for "I go for now")