Today flights were canceled, people around the world were having their hygiene products confiscated, arrest were made and a group of young English Muslims of Pakistani decent gave new meaning to the ad slogan, "Listerine Kills..."Thanks to a moronic group of Islamic "fascists" (as W put it) seems that toothpaste, shampoo and that loved/hated mouthwash are now contraband on flights.
First the guy who tried to light his shoes, now mouthwash. Is nothing sacred?!?
The irony is that these punks were trying to terrorize the Capitalist West and bring our economic engines to a screeching halt. What they did was cause the stock prices for hygiene products to gain ground and sent hundreds of thousands of would-be squeaky clean travelers to Wal-Mart to replace their shampoo that was impounded by the TSA. Most travelers were mildly irritated, but travel again they will.
Maybe instead of banning my toothpaste our government should reconsider decades of flawed policies directed at most of the world's poorest populations. When will we get it through our heads that it is not OUR freedom that the Islamic world fears (it is our freedom that makes us vulnerable to their shoe and Listerine bombers) it is THEIR freedom that they fear. Freedom is a mixed bag of good and bad. They do not want our democratic system of government, nor do they want the decadence that accompanies it. They do not want their women to be treated like human beings. Most of all they want us to stop supporting everything that Israel (the most democratic society in the Middle East) does just because they are democratic (and that shared religious heritage Judao/Christian stuff).
I am afraid that the more the Muslim extremists try to terrorize the West the more the West will infringe upon the East. Ironically these young zealots are going to bring to their nations the thing they fear most -- more US troops to the Middle East and more Americans to the support of Israel's "fight against terrorists." Did these cave dwellers not see how many American flags were flying on the day after September 11? Terrorism does affect Americans deeply, and makes us even more resolved.
I have to admit that I have been swayed today. The more attacks we face as a nation the more patriotic I feel. The more I am hated for simply being born in America the more American I feel. I was against the war, I'm still against war. I think democracy is not such a good idea on a global scale. But, the more Muslims try to kill Westerners (and fellow Muslims as in Iraq) the more empathy I feel toward Israel and England. Sure America has done a lot of bad things in the name of democracy. Truly Israel has taken land that did not legally belong to them. Of course Great Britain made gross errors in dividing up the Middle East (which was a mess before the UK got involved). But, what makes Osama think that by terrorizing the general public of free nations we will want to run headlong back into the dark ages? For better or worse a free society may not be able to freshen up on a flight, but we refuse to ban Muslims from flights. We will not become the racist bigots and zealots that threaten us.
My message to the terrorists -- Keep it up and I'll be working for the right of Muslim women everywhere to vote. What woman would "mastermind" a plan to kill thousands of innocent people?
Thanks a lot, zealots, for taking my toothpaste away on my next international flight. May the bad breath of a hundred thousand travelers fill the nostrils of your sleep.
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5 comments:
Interesting and insightful comments. I appreciate your views. It does seem interesting that these "punks" don't seem to understand that the more they terrorize, the more resolve and the more messy for them things will get. I am probably right of where you are, I happen to support the war - although I'm growing tired of it and am coming to believe that perhaps W didn't plan as well as he might have. I do hope sanity will raise it's head and these terrorists and their leaders will try a different angle. I'm sure they feel they have no recourse, feel powerless, fearful and holy in their cause - all combined a very bad thing. However, the US and UK are not Spain - we will not burrow our heads in the sand at the thought of terrorism.
I wonder however, is there a political answer to this? I haven't heard the Democrats provide one. I'm not sure the Republicans have a good one - what do you think?
Greg,
I'm not a pacifist in the strict sense of the word. I do believe in such a thing as a "just war", and obviously God commanded wars at certain points in history. However, I also maintain that war is basically (not totally) evil, and a clear result of the fall.
In our fallen state I believe our only hope is Jesus Christ. Not religion, not government, not philosophy, not even the Bible -- Jesus the incarnate Word of God. Until He returns there will be no peace.
There is a belief in America that God has established the USA to bring democracy to all nations. It is our “manifest destiny”. I think it was Reagan who put it in Biblical terms and called the USA a "city on a hill". Personally I think that democracy is a mixed bag and an earthly system that will ultimately fail, as all earthly systems will.
Democracy in the Netherlands has been abused to the point that this liberal state is now passing laws to regulate some of the freedoms that the youth have been enjoying to excess — proof that man has no self-control and he must be regulated.
Seems that Democrats want to bring democracy through talk and social action, while Republicans want to bring democracy to the world through talk and bombs (not that the democrats are above a bullet or two when the situation calls for it -- i.e.. Vietnam). The problem is that bringing democracy to the world involves trampling on a few “little people” that we call “collateral damage”. Those who are trampled by freedom’s ring become the terrorists of tomorrow.
Meanwhile is it possible that we could have more peace than less? I don't know. But, one thing is certain -- the more terrorists try to scare the US the more Michael Jackson they will have knocking on their door. (Last I heard he is actually moving to the Middle East to get away from our Justice system).
World War 2 was bad. But, it did usher in a time of relative peace and prosperity for the Allies and even the Axis powers. Who would have ever thought in 1938 that the Japanese and Germans would embrace Elvis?
You can fight democracy, but the more you do the more you will have it.
A plan to win the "War on Terror"? Flood the Middle East with anything that appeals to the flesh of the youth (which the US is known for) and make it cheap. In the process we will just have to sell our collective soul.
I’ve been told by my wife that my response was a bit too “unchristian”. So, I thought I should ad the addendum that I do not believe that we should promote American decadence as a means of ending terrorism. That was a tongue-in-cheek comment. Of course I do believe that the only way to end Islamic terrorism is for all Muslims to be converted, but this would take a miracle from God. But, there is no harm in praying to that end.
What I was trying to say is that Japan and Germany bought in to American culture at the end of WWII. We completely revamped their governments and forced democracy and the American way of life on these two ancient cultures. It was a huge success that we thought we could duplicate globally. In a way I think that is what W was thinking concerning Afghanistan and Iraq. Total war, total rebuild and presto you have allies. The problem is that Iraq and Afghanistan are not Japan and Germany.
Japan’s entire system of culture and belief was crumbling before WWII. Still young Japanese men had so much faith in their emperor, culture and nation that they were willing to be suicide bombers. The Emperor gambled and lost. He proved with his defeat that he was not much of a god. The entire system of belief was brought into question and a vacuum developed that the American Way of Life filled. A new constitution, women serving in public office and an anti-military system of government established. Add the influx of US dollars and investments, and presto an enemy becomes a chief ally. As America goes, so goes Japan.
Germany was humiliated at the end of WWII. The Arian dream was a nightmare and the whole world was shocked at the brutality of a minority of Germans. Most Germans felt guilt and shame over the Holocaust. A staggering defeat of the German war machine on two fronts disgraced the military masterminds and pacifism was embraced. The economy was again in ruins. Out with the old fascist and in with democracy. The youth embraced the American way of life and the dollars flowed into Germany. The Soviet Union ruled the East and decimated the place. The Allies ruled the West and there was prosperity to be found in freedom. As goes American, so goes West Germany.
Even in a draw like Vietnam bitter enemies eventually warm to each other because of mutual economic prosperity. Cuba is just a Castro away from being the next great investment of the century. Both Cuba and Vietnam share in their economic irrelevance (compared to oil) to the USA and have both enjoyed relative peace as a result. Now the people want the dollars to flow their way and American Joe (as long as he is wearing a suit or Hawaiian shirt, and not wearing fatigues) is OK.
The problem with Afghanistan and Iraq is that their system of faith is not in a shambles (rather it is passionately divided). The militias were not eradicated and humiliated. Their extremist leaders are still alive and promoting their ideology. Also, both countries are made up of multiple people groups that all have nationalistic tendencies and very strong religious differences. There will never be a united Iraq. There will never be a united Afghanistan (at least as the boundaries are currently drawn). The Japanese are mostly Japanese. The Germans are mostly German. Iraqis and Afghans are made up of a number of divided people groups.
In a growing global economy we need the oil that much of the Middle East floats on. The have nots outnumber the haves, and the haves aren’t inclined to share. Unemployment is extreme and the youth are frustrated. Most of the rulers of the Middle East are fairly vicious dictators. If it were not for the oil they control we would not consider them allies or friends. The Taliban and Saddam controlled very little oil and they became a nuisance, so we took them out of the way. Our hypocritical policies of promoting freedom and supporting dictators has caused much of the residents of the Middle East to hate us more than the tyrants who control their daily lives.
So, basically I really have no good ideas about ending terrorism. Hindsight is 20/20. I might could say what we should have done, and what we should not have done. But, how can we change decades of bad decisions? If we stop supporting the tyrants that control the oil we will lose the oil, and our economy will come to a halt. If we force Israel to share the “Holy” Land we might lose our only decent ally in the Middle East, and open them up to even more acts of terror.
At one point in history we could have forced the heavily dependant rulers of the Middle East to make their nations democratic and free, but we did not want that because the price of oil would have gone up. At one time we could have forced the dependant rulers of the Middle East to open up their nations to cultural exchange and freedom of religion, but we didn’t really care. We could have forced free and fair trade. Now, we are the heavily dependant consumers of the oil and we can make few, if any demands. The tyrants are precariously placed atop the plethora of militant factions that live under their reign. The whole thing is a delicate balancing act.
One genuine suggestion to ending terrorism — go green. Seriously, if we were not dependant on oil we would not be in this mess today. Take a fraction of the dollars that are going to fight terrorism and develop alternate fuel sources. Instead of making laws about flag burning, use legislation to usher in energy independence. But, with a large number of our national leaders (republican and democrat) benefiting in some way from the oil, energy or automobile businesses I don’t think it will happen.
For the record I STAND CORRECTED -- The beloved (and benevolent) King of the Rock Enclosure has informed me that one of the recent would be terrorist was a pregnant lady.
OK, so maybe women in leadership isn't such a great idea. ;)
You make a good point about disparate peoples expected to become a nation. Again, America is the model for this, but with one notable exception the people who have made a nation here are here because their ancestors wanted to come. In the Middle East and most of Africa, rival peoples are thrown together within false boundaries based on colonial powers of the 19th-20th centuries. It would be better to let these people divide up along ancestral lines, but that would be taking Iraq (for instance) and giving the Kurds and Shiites all the oil land, and thumbing our nose at the Sunnis; they in response would try to conquer the Kurdish and Shiite lands. As well, our official policy in the Middle East has been to support stable governments, rather than just governments (in a humanist, political sense), so we're connected with the house of Saud, the Shah, even Saddam for a time, and are hated and mistrusted because of it. Though now this policy has shifted, we'll be living with this mistake for quite a time.
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