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Aug 25, 2006 09:28

Well, it's been some time since I posted last. I'm still into my Bible project, I'm just making it less public these days. There was really only oneperson giving me any sort of constructive input when I'd post here anyway so if I have any questions, I'll just go talk with him. Others have been supportive, but haven't commented on my entries. So that's why you haven't been seening those. As for a lack of regular posting, I have only one thing to say: I am a guy and I'm not bisexual or gay. I'm perfectly allowed to go months without posting crap and no one can blame me. It's in my genetics. :P LOL (for those without a sense of humor, that was a joke.)

So on to more important things. Only a handful of folks will understand this. Others will think they do, but they really don't. Right now, my desk at work read: "I am a mundane leather cult artist lost in a dragon fangs-bitten chaos speed gamer dark vampire consipiracy dungeon larp convention party surrounded by anime babes. I've been danger. An Atlanta gofer"

Thanks for leaving them behind Asjachyld

Speaking of Asjachyld, I suppose as I write this she's on her way out of town. I don't tend to get very emotional when it comes to goodbyes. Afterall, it's not like I'll never see her again, but there are a few things I'd like her to know and remember while she's living the high life across the pond.


So, Asja: Remember that you have been one of my absolute best friends and I love you dearly for it. I want to thank you for everything you've done for me, from getting me hired at my current job to joining me at the dance studio to dance, endlessly, until we were ready to fall over. I want you to remember that even though we'll be a "few" miles apart, I'm still here for you. If you need help or you just need to hear a friendly voice or you'd like me to cross said pond to join torquefactor to kill some freaky-freak you met on the internet who's turned into a psycho stalker, you can give me a call.

Ok, enough of the mushy stuff. I want to rant.

I received an e-mail from a friend the other day who I'm pretty certain has crossed some sort of divide between sane patriotism and bigotry. Below is a reprint of this e-mail. I want to make it very clear that I don't agree 100% with this message. I don't support what it's saying, but I also don't have the knowledge to say whether what it mentions is true or not. I havn't read the Quran nor studied the teachings of Islam. So if there are any muslims out there reading this who can shed some light on some truth for me, I'd be much obliged.

And I quote:


SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT!

Can a good Muslim be a good American?

I sent that question to a friend who worked in Saudi Arabia for 20 years.

The following is his reply:

Theologically - no. Because his allegiance is to Allah, the moon God of Arabia.

Religiously - no. Because no other religion is accepted by his Allah except Islam (Quran, 2:256)

Scripturally - no. Because his allegiance is to the five pillars of Islam and the Quran (Koran).

Geographically - no. Because his allegiance is to Mecca, to which he turns in prayer five times a day.

Socially - no. Because his allegiance to Islam forbids him to make friends with Christians or Jews.

Politically - no. Because he must submit to the mullah (spiritual leaders), who teach annihilation of Israel and Destruction of America, the great Satan.

Domestically - no. Because he is instructed to marry four women and beat and scourge his wife when she disobeys him (Quran 4:34).

Intellectually - no. Because he cannot accept the American Constitution since it is based on Biblical principles and he believes the Bible to be corrupt.

Philosophically - no. Because Islam, Muhammad, and the Quran do not allow freedom of religion and expression. Democracy and Islam cannot co-exist. Every Muslim government is either dictatorial or autocratic.

Spiritually - no. Because when we declare "one nation under God," the Christian's God is loving and kind, while Allah is NEVER referred to as heavenly father, nor is he ever called love in The Quran's 99 excellent names.

Therefore after much study and deliberation....perhaps we should be very suspicious of ALL MUSLIMS in this country. They obviously cannot be both "good" Muslims and good Americans.

Call it what you wish....it's still the truth.

If you find yourself intellectually in agreement with the above statements, perhaps you will share this with your friends. The more who understand this, the better it will be for our country and our future.

Pass it on Fellow Americans. The religious war is bigger than we know or understand.

I'm not sure I agree with this post. I've met several Muslim Americans who were perfectly wonderful people and who embraced the ideals that this country was founded on. AND NO, THE GOR'AM COUNTRY WAS NOT FOUNDED ON THE PRINCIPLES OF THE BIBLE! The country was founded on the principles of freedom, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Our forefathers wanted a country where they were not taxed without due representation, where each man was considered equal to all other men and where you could freely worship any religion you choose without fear of reprisal from the government or your fellow citizens.

For those who don't understand what liberty means, I suggest you watch this short flash animation: The Philosophy of Liberty

I think what gets me about the above quoted e-mail is that it completely ignores a very important aspect of our country's principles and constitution: Religious Freedom. Muslims can't be good americans? Why? because they're musilm? They have that right in this country. They also have the right to be as bigoted and hateful as they want to be so long as that bigotry and hatred doesn't infringe on another person's liberty (see flash animation above). Ultimately, it doesn't matter whether the statements made in that e-mail are true or false. What matters is that despite that, a good American is something very hard to define. Some would say a good American is someone who fights for his/her country, who respects the will of the people and who values liberty above all else. Others would say that a good American is someone who activly encourages less government restrictions and who stands up against greedy politicans who want to take away our freedoms. There are a million different definitions of what a "good American" is. Couldn't Muslims fit into one of them? I believe they can.

That said, another subtle point this e-mail makes is that we shouldn't trust any Muslim (Ok... not so subtle). While I disagree because I happen to know at least one muslim that I feel I can trust, The statement opens up a larger argument. The argument of profiling. No one wants to be profiled by the government. The first thing many people do when they hear of government profiling is scream discrimination. I disagree. Profiling is the most effective method to fight terror that we have. Unfortunately for all arabic and/or muslim, people in this country there undeniable truth is that the overwhelming majority of Terrorists in the world are Muslim or at least represent some sort of extreamist branch of Islam. Therefore, it makes sense that if the majority of terror attacks come from Arabic and/or Muslims that Arabic people and Muslims should be looked at with closer scrutiny than others. I agree with profiling. However, we should not be discriminate in our profiling. There is a terrorist branch of the IRA as well. So, anyone of discernable Irish decent should be profiled as well. There are many african terrorist groups, African's should be profiled on this basis as well. Finally, there are Caucasion terrorists groups and Caucasions should be profiled because of it. We should all be profiled, but once we're all profiled then suddenly we're all equal again and nothing has really changed. Suddenly we're all suspects, which is exactly the way it is now.

One thing I do know for absolute certain. Terroism is a campaign against liberty, against freedom. If we allow our freedoms to be taken from us by a paranoid government in an effort to stop terrorism, the terrorists win the war. They get exactly what they want. They will have us living huddled in bomb shelters, being stripped searched before we can ride planes or trains, and being arrested for carrying nail clippers in our carry-on lugage.

We may be wining the physical war against Terror, but we are loosing the philisophical war. All our efforts to prevent terrorism have also restricted our freedoms. How much futher are we going to allow the government to restrict us before we begin to complain about it. We haven't given up very much yet. The freedom to have a leisurly flight, the freedom to dine with a fork and knife instead of a spork when on that flight, the freedom to carry whatever luggage we want with us on a trip... These are little things, but as more and more terrorists attempt to take our lives, more and more restrictions will be put in place to prevent it and one day we'll wake up with shackels on our feet and wonder where our liberty went, but at least we'll be safe right?
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