Debate!! Do you really think that if we are just nicer that terrorists will stop?

[Viking]

Originally posted by treesinger
Let's look at this another way...if America were suddenly turned into a Radically Fundamental Christian Country that made God's law the only law at the expense of freedom and liberty, would you think we were a backwards people? I'm thinking you would. I would. I'm betting that the world would say that we needed to get our heads out of our spiritual asses and join the modern world of acceptance, tolerance and diversity. And the world would be right. For that very reason, The US is right to wage this war. We need to provide the Muslim people in the Middle East an outlet for freedom. Theocracies are dangerous and oppressive, and in the hands of someone like SH, deadly. Now that Iraqi's truly have a voice in their country, it hopefully will never happen again.

Aren't you reaching here just a little bit? Heck, if we're going to play the ancient history game, I descended from Adam and Eve. So there.

Isn't America already on its way to be a Radically Fundamental Christian Country ? Just look at Ashcroft with his draping of the statues in Washington, or with Bush who believe's he's on a mission from God - That was funny when John Belushi and Dan Akroyd did it in the Blues Brothers, but IMHO it's scary when a political leader of a western country says such things.

And what have fairy tales like Adam & Eve to do with history?

 

[KimOhio]

NO they hate our whole way of life and living and believes

 

[Teejay32]

How can we have peers in other countries who think we're awash in MTV culture and we're turning into a fundie Christian country at the same time? Don't other people in the world have the responsibility of getting their perceptions right?

 

[WDWHound]

Originally posted by minniepumpernickel
Hound says, "Our only option is to wipe out groups like this"

Eradicating a whole group of people or trying to wipe out a whole population would only make the problem worse. Targeting the leaders and changing the ideaology would work better.

Please don't misunderstand me. I'm not advocating genocide here or wiping out Islam. I beleive we can we can wipe out these groups by taking out its leaders and improving the excomony so that that poor( who follow largely out of desperation) would no longer follow terrorist leaders. However, a large number of fanatrical terrorist foot soldiers will probably have to die in the process, or they will simply find a way to revive the movement again. I wish there was another way (and I still pray we will find another way), but thats the only route I see to ending terrorism right now.

 

[Viking]

Originally posted by Teejay32
How can we have peers in other countries who think we're awash in MTV culture and we're turning into a fundie Christian country at the same time? Don't other people in the world have the responsibility of getting their perceptions right?

It's all a question of your point of view

And as soon as your predident gets his responsibilities and perceptions right, the USA may be seen in a better light.

 

[Teejay32]

Originally posted by Viking
It's all a question of your point of view

A-ha. See?

And as soon as your predident gets his responsibilities and perceptions right, the USA may be seen in a better light.

That was very poetic.

 

[minniepumpernickel]

Originally posted by WDWHound
Please don't misunderstand me. I'm not advocating genocide here or wiping out Islam. I beleive we can we can wipe out these groups by taking out its leaders and improving the excomony so that that poor( who follow largely out of desperation) would no longer follow terrorist leaders. However, a large number of fanatrical terrorist foot soldiers will probably have to die in the process, or they will simply find a way to revive the movement again. I wish there was another way (and I still pray we will find another way), but thats the only route I see to ending terrorism right now.

I do agree with a lot of what you are saying. It just seems like the terrorists on the bottom end of the totem pole don't function like traditional foot soldiers in a conventional army. Where is the army? They aren't really just a part of any one country.

This brand of terrorism is more like a cult movement with a crazed wacky leader who has managed to convince a lot of poor, weak-minded followers from around the world, to commit suicide for him.

How do people like this get and hold such influence over other people? What type of conditions need to exist for this type of mentality to pervade so deep, and reach so many people? What can we do that would change the tide of this obviously disturbing and horrific trend?

 

[Trinity721]

Just a little note, and kinda off the subject. But I hate it when people say Muslims, or any kind of group, and pigeonhole the whole group. I hate hearing "they" about any group. "They" are not all like that. It is the extremists of a certain group that make the entire group look bad.

I graduated from Loyola U. Chicago, which is a Jesuit/Christian university. And yet we had a huge population of Muslims. Never in my 4.5years there did I see any form of hatred or misunderstanding between Christians or Muslims. Everyone got along. Proof that it is possible to get along, despite your different religions/backgrounds. "They" are not bad people. Granted, "some" of them are, but they are the extremists who take things overboard and then make a bad name for the majority of believers who are genuinely good people.

 

[LisaSt]

Trinity you are correct it sucks when people lump an entire nation or religious belief into one pot when it is only a small fraction of that population that act and think that way. Just like people saying the US is evil because of how the president is acting no the whole country isn't like that but the leader of the country is it isn't fair to judge everyone or paint everyone from a nation or religion with a single brush because a few do what they do.