Hatred and Restraint

I caught another report of a an anti-US demonstration in the news in passing today and it was staged in some Muslim nation. I don't know which because I was working and we're trying to get a product at the door and I'm pretty focused on that.

But it got me to thinking. If we were as evil as these people think we are, would they be demonstrating? Methinks they'd be cowering in fear because if we were all that bad we'd bomb the crap out of them for daring to protest.

So where is the line drawn? Frankly, I don't know. Anyone who says they know is full of crap. This country was founded on the principles of individual freedoms and the sanctity of the citizen. We've moved off of that a bit de facto....the government can and will screw you if you don't pay taxes but on the whole we place great stock in the freedom to do what you will as long as you don't harm others.

We are able to stay true to our values because, at least in Western countries, the root tenets are upheld. We may not agree with the specific policies of Canada, France, the UK, or whomever but the core values remain the same.

But now we have to deal with people trained from birth to hate. Folks who have not a single shred of foundation matching ours. People intolerant of differing views on religion and tolerance. People with a "Convert or die" mentality. If we had encountered them as individuals when I was young we'd have called them "fucking assholes".

What to do? If we try to reach out and "understand" them, what does it matter? Do we reach out to KKK members and try to understand them? What amount of sympathy and understanding undercuts a foundation of hate?

None. Can't be done. Those that want to impose our ideals on these fundamentalists are deluding themselves as they don't look at the flip side of the equation. Their ideals are to kill us. I'm pretty sure we don't want bilateral understanding under those circumstances.

Perhaps we have to just kill them like the cockroaches they are for a while until the rest get the message. Perhaps they only understand overwhelming and merciless power. Perhaps they are so far gone in indoctrination that this is all that will work.

Islam needs a Martin Luther. Until they have one, they are a dangerous breed who we can only effectively counter by playing the game by their rules. Our rules will get us killed, unfortunately.