Tuesday, March 27, 2007

Building Bridges

Some of the people who support Bush's illegal Iraq War seem to just like going to war--it demonstrates that America rules the world and all other nations should fall into line or watch out! Others just like Bush, I suppose, and would support anything he does, no matter how stupid (as has been demonstrated over, and over, and over again). But there's another group that supports the Iraq War because they view it as part of the so-called "War on Terror" which they take to mean--let's be honest here--"War on Islam." There is abundant evidence from pro-war extremist blogs that make it clear that for many it is Islam that is the enemy, which makes any Moslem a legitimate target. That's the attitude that I find revolting, un-American, and dangerously remeniscent of Hitler's Germany, and that's what all fair-minded Americans must guard against.

Information is the key, in my opinion. Most of the problem comes from people who are ignorant, or get their information from limited, biased sources. Learning about Islam from non-biased sources seems like a good thing, then, since I think if it is viewed with an open mind it might actually change some opinions. (Big if, I realize.) Now, personally, I think The Book that supposedly unites Christians, Jews and Moselms is part of the problem and not the solution, but here is a site on Building Bridges that makes the case. I haven't studied the site in detail, but I did see some promising sections when I visited.

1 comment:

zen said...

I am, as well, struck by the ignorance and short-sightedness of wishing the demise of civilizations.

Any true spiritual journey would surely not advocate the destruction of others as a path toward enlightenment.
However, this mentality is so strikingly prevelent that it can seem frightening if we let it let it.