Letters to the Editor
C. Mosby
Published Letters: 304 Editor's Choice: 3
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@Golden Boy re “Hey it will never affect you, right?
[Read the article: The Islamists are coming]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]GB: “I see you have no comment on the moderate Islamic belief that the Koran is the complete and immutable word of God, even in the face of the calls to violence, coercion, and misogyny that I quoted. Nor do you have a comment on the Islamic demand - backed by violence and threats - that everyone show deference to Muslim claims of supremacy. Hey, it will never affect you, right?”
I’m familiar with most of the things you quoted. The only comment I would have is that it’s certainly not surprising that anyone professing belief in a religion, moderate or otherwise, would argue that passages in the document purported to govern their belief system represent the “complete and immutable word of God”, despite what the words may convey. I happen to also think that any differences in the references to violence, coercion and misogynistic practices are largely a matter of degree. As many others have pointed out, the keys to any effect are in the interpretation, the audience and the motivation/resources of those doing the interpreting. I believe he’s made this argument to you in the past; but please reference this recent posting by Armageddon:
http://letters.salon.com/opinion/greenwald/2007/08/13/simon/permalink/f2a2cd7f12ce452f42911146c54bb8e0.html
I concur with Armageddon that your posts seem to be counterproductive to any resolution of this problem.
I don’t fear or needlessly concern myself with a “demand”, Islamic or otherwise, that “everyone show deference” to any “claims of supremacy”. There have been demands made for deference to claims of supremacy over others in this country in the past. Those demands and expectations for compliance were also frequently justified by certain passages in a religious document. Fear of those seen as deserving of subjugation was also a predominant component of the rationalization. A war eventually resulted and, despite that outcome, many years of injustice and frustration ensued for those deemed as inferior. Conversely, many years of privilege and economic advantage accrued to those deemed worthy of deference.
Guess what? Those WITHOUT FEAR finally got it figured out and, for the most part, the country managed to correct this problem. The passages in the religious document remain; but those still advocating that position have been mostly reduced to the fringe. I sincerely doubt that this could have happened had this country somehow been converted into a theocracy during that period of its history.
I am not unconcerned by threats of Islamic violence. I also think that most people certainly get it by now that you are clearly frightened by what that may mean for the security of the nation. I did check out your link regarding the Immigration Services employees allegedly aiding Islamist extremists. Who wouldn’t be concerned about that?
On the other hand, as the article pointed out, the people suspected of this were “exploiting the visa system for personal gain”. Seeking personal gain is a time-honored tradition in this nation and should not automatically be equated to theocratic motivation. As I suggested in my previous post, it may just be a matter of how you view the Scary Scale.
It seems to me that the “be afraid, be very afraid” card is played frequently enough by this administration to allow you a well-earned break. If you’re looking for an admission here, OK, I’ll concede that I’m less concerned at the moment about being blown up in a shopping mall by one or more of these misguided people (or the Tim McVeigh du jour) than I am about the very real prospect of the Stealth Bombers (e.g. DOJ and other government agency politicizations) that now threaten to blow up the basic premises upon which the nation was founded.
At the risk of mixing metaphors, I think we all need to keep our eyes on what's under the shell at the DOJ and elsewhere in this government while the "be afraid" card is being played.
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What was the title of Glenn’s post?
[Read the article: The Islamists are coming]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]If any are getting bored while anxiously awaiting the next elucidation from GB, here’s an interesting clip featuring another GB:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=AgBrVzbZYHY&mode=related&search=
I know it’s not fair. But it's FUNNY and I couldn’t resist.