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My daughter is now 18 and in her first year of university. My son is now 14 and about to become the lead singer in a band.
Today, I'm going to go out and buy a birthday gift for another little guy whose birthday party I've been invited to this afternoon, and who will turn 5 tomorrow.
He calls me uncle, even though we're not related.
And as he turns 5, he's completely oblivious to the stark and stupid reality that two of the world's biggest religions are fighting a war of words that is at the heart of all that's wrong on the planet.
On a global scale, the new pope of Christianity has infuriated and offended all of Islam with some stupid remarks he supposedly dredged up from centuries ago.
He's being burned in effigy in India and Muslims in every corner of the planet, predictably, are outraged. There have now been threats made that suicide bombers will invade the Vatican.
Benedict initially responded with press releases quoting him as being very sorry for any offence, but stopped short of an unqualified apology.
Muslims in Turkey, Indonesia, Pakistan -- everywhere -- are incensed.
Later, he appeared before pilgrims outside a palace in Rome and said he was deeply sorry, but added that the words he quoted from the Byzantine era were not something he personally believed.
Then why the hell did he quote them?
Meantime, the so-called War on Terror being fought under false pretenses and initiated by George Bush rages on in Iraq and Afghanistan, with Iran possibly next...all Islamic states.
And back in my little burg, one of the main stories in our paper today shows how an Islamic mosque was defaced this weekend, spray-painted with swastikas and other things in what is being called a hate crime.
We continue to exchange barbs in an ideological battle of one-upmanship that seems to have as its only aim the immature childhood argument of my dad's better than your dad.
My teenagers -- who have among their friends Chinese, Koreans, Pakistanis, Indians and many from the Middle East -- are watching all this crap and saying "What the heck are they doing?"
"Why can't they just leave each other alone?"
Thankfully, the little guy who will turn 5 tomorrow doesn't have a clue about all this. He'll be walking back to school, happy to be with his friends again and learning his ABC's and how to socialize.
And revelling in the birthday booty he gets today.
But what's in store for any of these unknowing kids tomorrow?
You couldn't have said it more clearly!
ReplyDeleteI ask myself all the time where are we going/what are we getting out of all this.
I wonder why muslims in my own country...in one of the states, Uttar Pradesh... start reacting before anybody else does.
I find so many sane voices in the net world and the same "we" become two-faced when it comes to our religion. If religion does this to us, dividing us, do we really need it?
What pains me most is the kids playing with guns describing blood and gore in vivid detail. Is this what we want of our kids?
Sorry for going on and on. But right now I am hopping mad!
PS: You got beautiful children!
I second Gautami's remarks.
ReplyDeleteI read and hear the news in my own country every day and feel like I'm reliving 12th and 13th century European history. I get 'public service announcements' fro local churches every year about their missionary trips to help the poor, unfortunate foreigners overseas and can't help but wonder why they don't look in their own community first.
I hear how my country wants to use foreign aid to win hearts and minds, when it ought to be used to just something human and decent.
I hear the words "Islam" and 'fascist' jammed together the same way McDonalds jams together 'super' and 'size.'
I see a world going haywire, and I don't know if it's a comfort or terror to remember that nature has a way of taking care of its imbalances.
Gautami:
ReplyDeleteWe're getting nothing but spin from the people who WE elect who are doing this, that's what we get out of it.
Politics and religion and economy are mixed together by the lobby groups for all three and this is the result.
Religion, though, is the most dangerous and explosive part of the elixir.
It's the thing that most divides the world, and when a goofy pope or an imbecile president pokes at someone else's religion, it becomes personal.
It's just plain ugly.
Fronty:
And I second your remarks.
The B.S. is there for all to see, and has been since the 12th or 13th century.
But we're all so accessible to one another now, there's global trade and commerce and the Internet.
So while all these separate groups might have been isolated from each other before, it's like they're all on the same schoolyard now.
And the bullies and their minions just go out and pick stupid fights over and over...
oh, I see that some COMPLETE WANKER made "over $900 last month last month having fun!". These tossers that go around leaving this shite in people's blogs get me riled up.(I'm tired and thus in a foul mood - watch out!) And this stuff going on in the world at the moment - what a big wank it is as well. And doesn't the media love to take such a thing and run with it.
ReplyDeleteWhy, thank you, Askinstoo, for this crass commercialism visit to my blog. Not once, but twice.
ReplyDeleteLee:
I'm sure it's all computer generated, but it's the first time I've ever seen it at my place.
Grin and barf on it.
So it's computer generated wank, then?haha. Nice looking kids, by the way.
ReplyDeleteHe's 5? Isn't he a little young for booty?
ReplyDeleteur kids r beautiful! Happy Bday to the 5yr old who calls u uncle....awwwwww...
ReplyDelete**There have now been threats made that suicide bombers will invade the Vatican.
So was the Pope wrong?
Keshi.
Nothing brilliant to add, only to say that this is turning into a really great blog, WW. I also enjoy my daily video blast-from-the-past. (I miss Johnny.)
ReplyDeleteI agree with everyone regarding the fact that after eons of killing each other endlessly over religious doctrine among other things, we have not learned to get along any better. Sad, truly sad. On the other hand (sorry, I'm a Gemini and I see all sides of things at the same time, exasperating, ain't it?) all the pope said was that God does not condone violence in his sake. It didn't strike me as a hurtful thing to say. Maybe I'm not understanding something?
ReplyDeleteGreat post, WW and wonderful comments too, except for Askinstoo.
This wasn't even a real Papal 'bull'...but it has nowhere to go but roll downhill..for starters every monotheist be they Islamic, Judaic or Christian ALL believe that their version of god IS THE god. It is the basis of the entire problem...
ReplyDeleteand sadly ironic as it is they are all wrong.
Secondly tolerance of others is certainly not the dominion of the religious world..in fact they need the secular people to referee...let's face it when the 'church' ruled Western civilisation it was known as the dark ages, for a very good reason..
What makes this whole thing even more pathetic is that the Pope was trying to reach out when these remarks were made...why is the idea that islam initially spread by the sword offensive to muslims in 2006? It is laughable that the islamofascists will KILL you for saying that their religion wasn't initially a warm fuzzy sensitivity based feel good act of volunteerism.
When Billy Graham's son Franklin stated that islam was not the divinely inspired true path to god atleast he was being honest.
How he missed a big fatwa is beyond me?
There is no middle ground between the monotheists...bottom line..if this thing catches any wind..head for the hills and hang on to your butts..
this is like a Hockey game that is going to experience a sudden strike by the referees during a Bench Clearing Brawl..you just have to sitback and wait until the fighters are too tired to swing anymore....
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDeleteI am comment deleted....
ReplyDeleteI destroyed Blogger's attempt to publish my comment twice...
what is up with Ass Kissin Too or is that Askintoo much?
You must put the squiggly letter test back on the comment section
..machines like asskisser cannot read them..
cute kids ww, and its so cool that your son can sing- thats so cool! maybe you'll have one of his videos on your page one day eh?
ReplyDeleteand i do wish things could be as easy worldwide as the kids see it to be!
WW, also the pictures are soooo cute! Incredible how fast they grow up, right?
ReplyDeleteWow...
ReplyDeleteWhile the cat's away...
Everyone:
Thanks for the comments on my kids. You know where they get it from, of course...
Lee:
I'm assuming one WW (Weird Wanker) went after another WW arbitrarily, and that it's computer generated...
And HE makes a good point about reinstituting my squibbly password thingy, which I didn't know had disappeared for commenters other than me.
MJ:
Bad, bad girl. There's booty, then there's BOOTY. It was all Spiderman, all the time at the party...
Keshi:
Well, I certainly think the pope was being a doofus, but everyone has their own opinion, as expressed in different forms here.
What hasn't been expressed here is what many Christians believe, that Muslims are cretins who are out to destroy all religions and take the world by force.
My point is, in this period of high anxiety and the so-called War on Terror, why would the pope say anything at all to enflame the situation even more?
Andrea:
My big hug extends all the way around you, even from here. And I take requests.
Carmy:
A good point...has the Muslim world over-reacted and, really, was the Pope historically correct?
Whether they DID over-react or whether he WAS right or IS right is beside the point, I think.
It's like there's this huge ideological war of verbal and spiritual diarrhea right now.
And he just gave the world a big laxative and enema by bringing up something he didn't have to.
If the Muslims had the runs before, think of what they've got now.
Homonotonous:
Brilliantly said, as usual.
Dark Ages is right, and it all goes back to the main point: religion -- any religion -- is the cause of all this hatred and back and forth.
They're all trying to force their will, their beliefs, on everyone else. And that's where it starts.
It's like some horror game show or something.
Angel:
If my male offspring ever actually sings a song, I'll be super proud and will post with his permission.
Now what I think is a song as opposed to what he thinks is a song are likely two very different things...
Couldn't agree with you more on the notion that why can't we all be more like the kids we all USED to be?
Carm:
It truly is amazing, kids growing up like that...my daughter's 10 times smarter than I am and my son's 10 times dumber, so that's about right...(just kidding).
Aidan:
Amen (in a completely NON-RELIGIOUS sort of way).
So you're telling everyone that you're a weird wanker, then? haha. That is not advisable -haha.
ReplyDeleteWW u r right...sometimes we have to be sensitive towards others when we open our mouths. BUT :)
ReplyDelete**that Muslims are cretins who are out to destroy all religions and take the world by force.
Im not surprised that the Christians/Buddhists/Hindus etc r thinking that way. Cos just take a look at the religious menace that we have had to put up with for so long cos of muslim fanatics! Im not trying to divide ppl up here based on religions, but when u do take a good look at the world and it's issues right now Im sorry to say that Islam is representing itself quite badly.
Im not afraid to tell the truth. And if they r giving death threats to the Pope cos of honestly saying what he felt, then r the muslims setting a good example of their mighty faith?
**My point is, in this period of high anxiety and the so-called War on Terror, why would the pope say anything at all to enflame the situation even more?
He is being honest and I dont see anything wrong in that.
Keshi.
Lee:
ReplyDeleteNo, I think that's perfectly advisable, actually...the Weird Wanker from Winnipeg has a nice ring to it...
Keshi:
Hmmm...
OK.
But I'm not convinced that Christians, Hindus and Buddhists think that way, necessarily.
And while I can't and don't know it for sure, my belief is that the Muslims were just fine before the Christians and others came along into their lands and starting taking over their countries by trying to exploit their oil reserves and all and trying to thrust their social cultures on those people.
My understanding -- and I could be wrong here -- is that if left alone, Muslims and the Islamic world were just fine and had evolved their own religion, whether we liked it or not, and they were NOT trying to force it upon the wider world.
My belief or understanding is that it was only when the Western World went into their space and tried to change all that that they began reacting to those incursions with aggression, defending their right to believe in what and in who they believed in.
I'm not supporting terrorist acts or death threats by any people, but it seems to me that there are as many fanatics outside of the Islamic world as there are within it.
There was 9-11, there were other examples of terror. But are these in retaliation for the Muslim world's perception that they were being threatened, or did they do these things out of a sense of defending themselves?
This obviously is a very complex issue. All I'm saying is for the pope to have said what he said, when he said it, was goofy.
The fact he apologized, and then added that these weren't his personal beliefs, shows how stupid it was, I think.
And sometimes, the best policy is silence, even though you think you're right.
In a world of heightened emotions, I just don't think it helped...no matter what you believe in.
**And sometimes, the best policy is silence, even though you think you're right.
ReplyDeleteAnd sometimes silence can cost more.
I agree with what u said abt the Western world invading the ME etc. But no one started off with bombs.
Keshi.
How can we denounce the whole of Muslim world?
ReplyDeleteWhy did Pope make such a comment in the first place?
Hinduism was supposed to be one of the most tolerant religions. But past few years there has been steady rise of hardliners there too. This way we will catch up soon.
Sometimes I think we are not far off from dark ages..
It might be a good thing too. After killing, maiming, we might get saner...just my speculation..
Keshi:
ReplyDeleteOK, but if you're not going to be silent, then you need to expect that the group you're calling out is going to react to your words, and they may not be able to do that in an enlightened, peaceful discourse.
And in a highly-charged, over-emotional environment -- which is always the tone with religion -- it doesn't take long for words to erupt into violence.
Grumbly One:
Welcome back. All great points. I think the Muslim world already has an inferiority complex and a feeling like they're the little kids on the block, always being bullied around.
If things were reversed -- if it was the so-called New World (North America, Europe, etc.) that was Islam and the Middle East, Africa, the Far East, etc., that was Christian, the shoe would be on the other foot.
I think the ideologies clash when we go into their territory and start exerting our will and influence and values.
And they are fighting back the only way they know how, like cornered animals.
Any sense of reason goes out the window. This is about survival of beliefs.
It doesn't have to make sense. It's just the way it is.
Gautami:
Yep, sometimes things have to hit rock-bottom before they get any better.
First of, loved that little snippet on your kids, you proud papa, you!
ReplyDeleteAlso, I was disturbed to hear about a documentary slated for release later this month or maybe it has been released already - it's called "Jesus Camp" and it's all about training little kids to become "warriors" for Jesus. From what I have read, this could well turn out to be a Christian madrasa. Let's hope I'm wrong.
Lotus:
ReplyDeleteThanks on my kids...
Oh, great. Another new religious militia force about to enter the playground.