A crossroad

Absurd . . . outrageous . . . who's kidding who? Seems to me that the violence erupting over this whole cartoon thing does nothing more than validate the notion that the Islamic religion is a "religion of violence" . . .

I listen to AM talk radio several hours a day. It is a very common to hear interviews of Islamic scholars, clergymen, and "citizens" who profess their culture and religion to be one of tolerance and peace . . . IMHO, the actions of the radical Islamic elements certainly make the PR job of convincing us about this "peaceful thing" a whole lot more difficult is factual.

The recent deaths, destruction of embassey buildings, and worldwide protests/rioting, seem to me to be an irrational and extremely intolerate reaction.

No one should offend the sensibilities of another religion or culture . . . I think most rational folks would agree on that point. Most folks I know condemn bigotry and intolerance. As baby boomers, my generation grew up with a set of values that were centered on "getting along with others". I can only speak for me . . . but I always embraced opportunites to get to know and understand people who were different than me . . . I sometimes kid that I had no notion of what it meant to be prejudicial until I went into the Army . . . that was my first exposure to some of the low life individuals whose attitudes and behaviors ran counter to every value ever instilled into me by may parents, teachers, or clergy. I avoided falling into the trap of stereotyping any particular race, creed, or nationality . . . recognizing that the few "bad eggs" weren't representative of a group. Following that same line of reasoning today, I truely want to believe the best about Islamic religion and culture . . . I wonder how many other "boomers" find themselves at this crossroad?


It seems to me that there is a long list of historical examples where Christians and Hebrews endured intolerance, defamation, and ridicule, but when these folks got pissed off, they don't go on a rampage . . . so

I'm on the fence about this "religion of peace - religion of violence" portrayal of Islam . . . I honestly never gave it a lot of thought before last week . . . in the public relations department, in my book at least, actions tend to speak louder than words.