Over the years I have shied away from writing about politics and current events. Not that I was or am non- opinionated, but the political issues were hands-off due to my church's (Wisdom House Circle) tax exempt status and IRS restrictions. The current events always seem to get over-analyzed by the thousands of reporters and journalists.
But, today I feel compelled to render something about the chaos in the world, man's inhumanity to man, and the role of religion with respect to it. The recent attacks in Paris (11/13/15), on top of the 9/11 tragedy and countless number of cowardly, beastly acts by the self-proclaimed saviors of mankind, the jihadists, should have united the world against one target. But, that in itself is difficult since the jihadists are composed of many splinter groups, all with the same goal, but with different methods and targets. I am a pacifist and isolationist, according to some labelists, but also a realist (I really dislike labels).
Traditional logic, discussion and negotiation has little or no impact with some. Dr. Martin Luther King's quote: {"Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that"} falls on ears of those with desires to be martyrs and face their death knowing they are loving and forgiving their slayers. For the majority of the world's population, self-preservation and/or safety of their loved ones are of paramount importance.
There are an estimated 320 million Muslim radicals/extremists/jihadists today all over the world. Current efforts to bomb suspected pockets of the terrorists have met with very limited positive results. The only active ground troops to speak of are Syrian and that's like...what's the worst of 2 evils?
No, I am not suggesting I have answers that can resolve a complex issue quickly. Mix religion, politics, egos and money and things get very, very complicated. I will, however, raise one question. There are approximately 1.6 billion Muslims world-wide. As stated earlier, about 20% are extremists/radicals, etc. Where are the 1 billion non-extremist/radical/terrorist Muslims? Where are the imams world-wide? The only ones I have heard about in the news are the few supporting the terrorist acts. Others insist the Muslim faith is a peace advocating religion. If so, why aren't the religious leaders speaking out condemning these vicious acts? Why aren't the billion Muslims rebelling against the violence? The terrorists have no limits on their targets, including Muslims who don't agree 100% with their ideology. Why is the world of 7.3 billion allowing this small percentage continue to create terror, fear, havoc in the world? Can the world indeed unite against 1 common enemy? What will it take for that to happen? Haven't we seen enough already? Didn't we see enough 14 years ago?
No, I don't have answers, just a lot of the same questions you probably have. I just needed to vent a bit and being an author gives me a venue to do so. If anyone else needs to release, please, feel free to use the reply boxes below. Your comments are always welcomed.
Blessed Be!
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