“Deep deep down it’s jealousy…. The west has it all… When you live like dustmites that’s gotta make you a little green and disgruntled.. Some kids build huge castles out of blocks and others like to come along and kick them over… Guess who’s who?”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Now, \u00a0while this may have \u00a0a grain of truth in it, \u00a0it does show a lack of understanding of the motivations of the Middle Eastern Radicals who are often responsible for these acts. \u00a0 This is what I wanted to address.<\/p>\n
1) \u00a0Is it really jealousy that motivates these attacks? \u00a0 I think not. \u00a0Not only does the West NOT have it all, \u00a0there are a number of other societies around the world that look at our greed and possession driven society and shake their heads in disbelief. \u00a0 To claim that Western Civilization is the height of perfection shows a parochial point of view, a view that is based on prejudice not fact.<\/p>\n
2) \u00a0Claiming that people in the Middle East “Live like Dust Mites” is also rather dismissive of a society that has been around<\/p>\n for many, \u00a0many years longer than America, and likely will still be here when America is nothing but a footnote for a history class. \u00a0 It is true that the standard of living in much of the Middle East does not compare to American Middle Class (What little there is left of it), \u00a0but that has more to do with the fact that we, and before us the Russians, \u00a0have been pounding their infrastructure into fine pebbles for decades with machines of war. \u00a0 The Middle East is also \u00a0an object lesson about the society that America is moving towards. \u00a0It is a society where a very small percentage of the people have all the money and power, \u00a0and the vast majority of the citizens are barely scraping by. \u00a0It is further along that path than we are, \u00a0but we are on that same road.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n 3) The post also ignores the religious aspects of the conflict between the fundamentalists in the Middle East and the rest of the world. \u00a0 There is a small subset of Muslims who are driven by ignorance and fanaticism, \u00a0taught by Imams who pervert the words of the Qura’an, \u00a0to push their agenda of hate and death. \u00a0 These people are not driven by greed. \u00a0They are driven by propaganda and a mistaken belief in their Scriptures. \u00a0 We have the same sort of people in the United States.<\/p>\n An extreme example is that of Westboro Baptist Church, \u00a0 although there are a lot of groups who believe they are following the teachings of Christ, but are only one or two steps away from these fanatics. \u00a0 Now, I, for one, tend to think that this factor is one of the strongest, \u00a0as the West has been attempting to attack the Middle East for hundreds of years. \u00a0 That is a legacy that can build a LOT of resentment. \u00a0 Think, for example of the Crusades. \u00a0 The West sent this army of heavily armed men into the Middle East, \u00a0and those men used the excuse of trying to free Jerusalem to rape, pillage burn and kill huge numbers of the inhabitants. \u00a0 The Knights had no honor there, \u00a0they were no better than barbarians. \u00a0 Jumping to a much more recent time, \u00a0 a few decades ago, the Russians went into Afghanistan to “pacify” it. \u00a0they pitted heavy tanks against guys with rifles. \u00a0 I suspect, that there were a fair number of atrocities committed during that conflict too. \u00a0 Then, \u00a0after the Russians got tired of playing War in the area and bailed out, \u00a0American leaders came up with a nonsensical reason to justify their sending in troops to continue killing a few combatants and hundreds of thousands of innocents, including women and children. \u00a0This is no way to get a war to wind down!<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Now…what can we do to improve the situation? \u00a0As individuals, \u00a0perhaps nothing huge – \u00a0Unless you, the reader, are the Leader of a Middle Eastern country, \u00a0or are one of the Ultra-Rich in America! \u00a0 However, \u00a0 we can each make small steps forward and with enough of us, \u00a0a mighty force of change can, perhaps help. \u00a0 We can study the ENTIRE text of our Holy Book(s) and work to gain understanding of the full message of Christ, or Mohammed. \u00a0 We can treat others around us with respect and not fear and hate. \u00a0 We can work to support the organizations that oppose discrimination against people, both citizens and guests in our country, and finally, \u00a0we can vote for representatives on ALL levels of government that look to the welfare of the citizens and do what is necessary to keep America a country with goodness in its heart, and not evil. \u00a0 It is a hard thing to do, and requires constant vigilance, \u00a0but, with work and time, \u00a0we can change the path America is on. \u00a0 We can make it more difficult for people around the world to hate us, and wish to bring us harm. \u00a0 The Right-Winger’s claims that the entirety of Islam is the enemy is both wrong, and suicidally foolish. \u00a0 Apparently these candidate wanna-bes do not realize that if push comes to shove, there are 350 million Americans, \u00a0but, there are 1.3 BILLION Muslims in the world. \u00a0 We are the minority here, and the probability that we would win a contest of violence with the rest of the world is slightly less than you or I winning the PowerBall lottery. \u00a0 It is nothing but foolish grandstanding to claim otherwise.\u00a0 It seems to me that it would be far more productive to work with the moderates in these countries, \u00a0to support their efforts to bring a more sane and modern for of government to the area.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Pleasant Dreams<\/p>\n Bee Man Dave<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"![\"More](\"https:\/\/beemandave.com\/beemanblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/AfghanWar_s3.reutersmedia.net_-3.jpeg\")
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