Letters to the Editor
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For every million believers...
...there are a million different beliefs. It seems more useful to me to characterize people by their actions. Terrorists are terrorists, whether they are from Oklahoma, Ireland or Afghanistan. Hell, "we" used terror tactics against the British and the loyalists during the American Revolution. If our country was occupied by Saudi Arabia, I'd be in a terror cell myself--wouldn't you?
Americans are constantly whipped up into a state of fear...so that we continue to support a massive Offense Department. Mitt Romney is happy to talk about taking on the "entitlements", aka medicare, medicaid and social security, that are eating up an ever increasing part of the budget but it is political suicide for any politician to even think about cutting "defense" spending. For the record, I do think we need to take a hard look at social spending and the catastrophic rise in medical costs, but I also think it's sad and stupid that we continue to spend ten times more than the next ten nations combined on "defense"--money that certainly is not going to take care of our veterans and their families.
Our agressive stance in the world breeds more agression.
And I wish we could agree on a definition of fascism...I was taught that fascism, from fascis, bundle of sticks, refers to a strong state where industry, religion, and politics all march to the same tune. You could certainly characterize Iran as fascist, but not Al Qaeda...they have no state. The left and the right have both been far too prone to using fascist as a convenient term to automatically demonize anything they don't like. "Islamofascism" and "Christofascism" or "Judeofascism" is just so much rhetoric.
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Ron Paul?
I see no mention of Ron Paul, who has always been against the war in Iraq (more so than any of the Democrats) and who NEVER mentions Islamofascists.
Ron Paul will is the best candidate from both parties, who will in one fell swoop end the war and save our economy.
Do the smart thing and vote Ron Paul.
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Chris W
I agree with everything you say, as an atheist I find all religions to be irrational and Islam has much that the atheist should fear.
What you left out is that in a country which is more than fifteen percent non religious and in which the non religious are by far the fastest growing minority in the country, there are but a couple of non religious politicians out of probably hundreds of thousands.
You left out that a country which calls itself "The Land of the Free" has a higher percentage of its citizens locked in cages than any other country on the planet, bar absolutely none.
You left out that a country in which a majority of the citizens claim to be followers of the Son of God, whose primary teaching was to treat others as we would wish to be treated, spends more on instruments of death and destruction than the rest of the planet combined.
I could go on in this vein for a while but I suspect you may have gotten my point by now.
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Is Santa Klaus real
Religion has taught me not to believe in fairy tales as a grown up.
It can get people killed.
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@Elephantman
"Can there be any doubt that one of the most repressive regimes on the face of the earth in the last half of the 20th century was the Taliban's reign in Afghanistan?"
Perhaps...
"Is any government more responsible for clutural repression and destruction?"
The US?
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@ Kasimira
Christianity has a history of violence, racism, sexism and oppression that makes Islam appear modest by comparision. Look what we did to the New World. Look what we do to each other. We also considered women property until just a little while ago. Some of us even think that changing that notion has produced problems. Don't be surprised if there is a roll back in that. As long as we can keep the women dressing like whores and being sex objects their rights are of little concern. Why should we pamper and make it an easier on women than we do for men?
Pot calls Kettle black.
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Christian Terrorism indeed. Islam not intolerant?!
I admire Juan Cole. I understand that he is a scholar of some standing on these topics and I normally agree with his opinions but I have to humbly disagree on a couple things.
I don't know anyone who would NOT identify Timothy McVeigh et. al. as "Christian Terrorists". I do not think that "Christian Terrorist" is an inconceivable concept to most Americans.
Also, The Koran is full of passages expressing intolerance for infidels and especially Jews. How does Cole explain the many intolerant verses in the Koran like those cited at say http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/anti-semitism/koranjews.html
?
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@kasmira
"If pious Jews were repeatedly referring to the Tanakh (Old Testament) as their current, eternal guide while homicide bombing, mass-murdering, raping, assassinating, and committing various other acts of brutal mayhem, you might have a point, Sera1. However, they don't, while Muslims so inclined can and do use their texts and the example of their prophet as justification for said bombings, mass-murders, rapes, et. al. Pretending they don't is just, well, stupid."
Jehova gave them Israel and Hilter was a bad man so that makes everything that Israel does to the Palestinians all right, including bombing, mass murdering, raping, assassination, and various acts of brutal mayhem and if you don't like it you are a Jew-hating anti-semite.
It's in the BOOK.
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Where's the beef?
I'd like to see some kind of evidence -- polling, focus group -- that these candidates have failed or are failing because of their attacks on Muslims.
I fear many people feel safe in expressing hatred for Muslims in large part because public figures have blamed the larger Muslim world community for all terrorist acts and legitimized such hatred in the process.
I'm sorry, Dr Cole, the there remains a broad and deep wellspring of hatred in this country toward non-Christians and people of color. No, it's not as bad as it was, say, 50 years ago, but it may be enough to swing a election.
Erasmus