Osama bin Laden is dead, now what?
(Cross-posted to my Facebook.)
So the hunt for Osama bin Laden is finally over. I take issue with one paragraph in the SFGate article online. It reads "No one should be under the illusion that the threat of terrorism will go away with the death of bin Laden. Al Qaeda has splintered into various groups and countries in recent years, and there still will be jihadists determined to do us harm. But his death leaves no doubt that they cannot do so with impunity."
It's that last sentence. I really don't think they *cared* much about what *we* might have in store for them.
A ten year gap between crime and punishment isn't necessarily much of a deterrent IMO, and it seems to me that the group that went on the complex mission on 9/11 were more concerned with serving their god/path than what *we* might have in store for them as punishment. After all, the ones who got on the planes did so fully willing to die for their cause (and probably in the belief that their god will look favorably upon them for having died to support it.) Don't they think that the most important reward or punishment would come from God?
Taking out a leader of a violent movement does not eliminate the movement or beliefs of the followers.
The problems posed by extremists in any faith aren't limited to Muslims. (Nor is every Muslim an extremist, though I would hope anyone reading already knows that.) We have our own American people killing in the name of God right here in the USA when they bomb abortions clinics. A real end to inter-faith violence will happen only when every leader of every path teaches tolerance, and every follower accepts that it is their individual responsibility to do so. As long as ANY faith-based organizations continue to tell their followers that 'our way is the only way', we will have division and violence.
People can dislike and disagree what he and his followers stand for, but give them credit for this: they BELIEVE in what they are doing. They believe that they are serving God, even laying down their lives for that belief.
I long for the day that all paths believe what I do - that there is something to be learned from all paths, and that different paths are right for different people.(I'm not talking about cults here.) It takes a sense of self-confidence to do that, and I don't think I'll see it in my lifetime.
But if you hated what he stood for, and their violent elimination of people who are "different" in their beliefs, then remember that it's not such a big gap between that and the 'our way is the only right way' mentality, even without advocating violent elimination of people who are "different", and thus somehow "evil" and a threat. If a path is sound, it will stand on it's own without threats. A path of worship should be build on love and community, not hate and division.
If you want to truly fight what he stood for, then teach tolerance. It starts with each of us.
So the hunt for Osama bin Laden is finally over. I take issue with one paragraph in the SFGate article online. It reads "No one should be under the illusion that the threat of terrorism will go away with the death of bin Laden. Al Qaeda has splintered into various groups and countries in recent years, and there still will be jihadists determined to do us harm. But his death leaves no doubt that they cannot do so with impunity."
It's that last sentence. I really don't think they *cared* much about what *we* might have in store for them.
A ten year gap between crime and punishment isn't necessarily much of a deterrent IMO, and it seems to me that the group that went on the complex mission on 9/11 were more concerned with serving their god/path than what *we* might have in store for them as punishment. After all, the ones who got on the planes did so fully willing to die for their cause (and probably in the belief that their god will look favorably upon them for having died to support it.) Don't they think that the most important reward or punishment would come from God?
Taking out a leader of a violent movement does not eliminate the movement or beliefs of the followers.
The problems posed by extremists in any faith aren't limited to Muslims. (Nor is every Muslim an extremist, though I would hope anyone reading already knows that.) We have our own American people killing in the name of God right here in the USA when they bomb abortions clinics. A real end to inter-faith violence will happen only when every leader of every path teaches tolerance, and every follower accepts that it is their individual responsibility to do so. As long as ANY faith-based organizations continue to tell their followers that 'our way is the only way', we will have division and violence.
People can dislike and disagree what he and his followers stand for, but give them credit for this: they BELIEVE in what they are doing. They believe that they are serving God, even laying down their lives for that belief.
I long for the day that all paths believe what I do - that there is something to be learned from all paths, and that different paths are right for different people.(I'm not talking about cults here.) It takes a sense of self-confidence to do that, and I don't think I'll see it in my lifetime.
But if you hated what he stood for, and their violent elimination of people who are "different" in their beliefs, then remember that it's not such a big gap between that and the 'our way is the only right way' mentality, even without advocating violent elimination of people who are "different", and thus somehow "evil" and a threat. If a path is sound, it will stand on it's own without threats. A path of worship should be build on love and community, not hate and division.
If you want to truly fight what he stood for, then teach tolerance. It starts with each of us.