2/06/2006

So... why is this funny?



So... Muslims around the world are offended by a cartoon that associates Islam with violence, and in response they riot and burn embassies and neighborhoods to voice their outrage?

I'll be honest. I'm trying hard to keep in mind that Islam is a peaceful religion. That the events that have been associated with some of its followers over the last 30 years do not accurately depict the faith's true message. That militants and radicals exist within the walls of every world religion and have throughout history. That my country's foreign policy has been marred with greed and self servance in every corner of the world long before we were a global power. That to act out in anger when you feel you have been wronged seems to be human nature.

But I am confused how the very same extremists who demand that all western civilians leave the middle east or risk death for threatening their holy land's sovernty feel justified in threatening France's sovernty when it passes a bill to ban scarves that are worn to cover the faces of Muslim women in public.

Or how the very agitators who routinely burn the flags of other nations and shout death to it's leaders can be offended when something or someone they deem sacred is treated in a less than respectful manner.

Noone gets it both ways. No country gets to muscle other countries for cheap labor or unfair trade practices and not face growing unrest from its peoples which eventually turns into terrorism. And no religion gets to defend its ideals with violence against innocent people of the world and not face increasing criticism and generalizations.

I guess that's all I wanted to say.