mxracer76 wrote:I have a few questions.
Why do some people think that their country is better than someone elses?
Why do some people think that their religion is better than someone elses?
Why do some people think that their beliefs are right and all others are wrong?
And most importantly, why can we all just get along?
We all breathe the same air. We all live under the same sun. We all bleed when we are cut. We all have dreams. We all have nightmares. We are all human beings!!!
Human nature. Face facts - we were all born into a religion and country. If that religion and country have not caused direct harm then we tend to embrace it. When we see other religions and countries causing harm then we tend to resent, seek change, even fear.
If you believe all terrorists are Muslims then you probably envision terrorists every time you see a Muslim pray - you may even think they are praying for our destruction. Works in reverse as well - if other countries see us in combat in another country then they think we are all about war. Sad stuff, but again, human nature.
I think we tend to forget or ignore the amount of information we are so fortunate to have access to. I would imagine that if I was born in Pakistan and a Muslim, and not afforded the information that I have access to then I would come to so pretty crappy conclusions about the world and the US. Governments matter. They have the ability to provide information, or conceal, twist, and falsify. Human nature will respond accordingly - if we know we are being lied to we will rebel; if we believe we have the facts we will conform without knowledge of options.
Do I agree with our President about "Muslims" being part of our history, no. Other cultures have far more to do with the building of the US. Muslims were hardly addressed or thought of in any real fashion until they sought to do us harm. Heck, even after the embassy incident in Iran we did not have resentment for "Muslims" - we resented Carter far more!
I do believe we have the responsibility to think though things, understand who we are fighting, and why. We cannot give in to the human desire to generalize and put all Muslims in the same basket. Again, we have access (Obama may prefer we did not) to information and can make a choice. Don't get me wrong, I am very aware that most terrorists are Muslims and support focusing our efforts on determining if a Muslim is a terrorist instead of a 75 year old lady from Georgia who's family lived in the same small town for the last 4 generations - racial profiling my butt - that's just not being a candyass.
Ok, yeah, hard to follow, may not make sense, but I feel better so that is all that matters!