Gunny
Gold Member
It's kind of a joke, Gunny.
The point of origin for all of this conflict is the Middle East. Islam, Christianity, and Judaism are all related and derive from the same source. Nevertheless conflicts within and between these religions are a festering sore which have consistently threatened world peace for a long time, including the peace of people who do not subscribe to monotheism.
Do I really want to destroy all those religious monuments? No. Would the world be better off without them? Probably. Would the world be safer without the squabbling between the monotheistic desert religions? Definitely.
It's local politics raised to the global level.
I can't say I agree. Religion, with all its faults whether real or imagined, defines us as societies. While there are those who wish to deny it becasue the truth doesn't suit their argument, human nature is comprised of seeking shelter, food warmth and companionship. Everything beyond that is contrived, based on societal belief. Those societal beliefs determine what is right and wrong. Human nature does not.
So, if you remove religion; which, has defined almost all societies since the dawn of mankind, you have no basis for the Judeo-Christian belief that is the cornerstone of out society's values.
When you boil away the veneer of religion it all comes down to man's natural fear of difference. While religious belief certainly defines the two societies, it the difference between the two socieities and the unwillingness to accept the other that is the cause for violence.
While you choose to portray Islam, Judaism and Christianity as equivalents, they are not. Islam is the religion AND the law based on values not embraced by Judeo/Christian based Western society. Islam suppresses and destroys and if you don't go along with party line of your particular fiefdom, you get tortured, murdered or both in the name of the religion.
The biggest "threat" to secularists in the US is a monument of the Ten Commandments in an out fo the way alcove in a courthouse.
In the particular instance of Islam vs Christianity, the probem is that one sees the destruction of the other as the solution. In response, Christians/Westerners are now beginning to see the solution to their problem as the destruction of Islam.
But it's mroe than that. It is a cultural war -- Western society vs Arab society, only their society cannot be divorced from their religion because they are one and the same. Ours is not necessarily so.
Without those societies however, you have chaos. Human beings without morals and only the instinct to fulfill actual natural preservation.
Even though you choose to take a third side in this argument as if it does nto pertain to you, Islam does not differentiate between you and me. And if you want to know what typically happens to people proclaiming themselves neutral in a conflict, watch the movie Shennandoah with Jimmy Stewart.