Ok, so I guess I have been quiet for too long. Sorry about that. But before I let you all know what's been happening in my life I thought that I would speak out about what has been on everyone's mind since September 11th.
I don't think I will ever forget the feeling I got when Gloria called me and told me to turn on the news. I was shocked silent as I watched the WTC towers smoulder and smoke. Then all I could do was sit there with my mouth open and watch as the two towers fell from the NYC skyline. I couldn't believe it. It was like something from a movie. At first I thought it was a hoax, but that disappeared after about 0.5 seconds. Then I started to wonder who did this? How could they do something like this? And what is the U.S. going to do to get revenge?
Sadly I still feel only one of my questions has been satisfactorily been answered. After a respectable amount of time (although there is no time that could be long enough the life of over 5000 innocent citizens of America) the U.S. began its attack against terror. So we now know how they are responding. But who did this? And how did they possibly bring themselves to do this?
Everyone screamed for war. But we need to realize what war entails. Many people are going to die. Not just Bin Laden and his followers. Just today the paper talks of 13 civilians dying in a stray? American bomb. Even more innocent people will die and if Afghanistan retaliates, then even more Americans will die as well. This might not be as smooth of an operation as Desert Storm. This isn't a war against a specific country. It's a war against a religious nation with people all over the world. I admit that something needs to happen to ensure that the 5000+ dead aren't left unavenged but how much blood is enough to satisfy everyone's anger? And will the people responsible be killed? Is that justice? I don't think so. I think that they should be punished. Tortured. They should suffer for what they did. But the longer they are left alive the better chance it will turn into a human rights issue and people will demand their release. So what is the answer, if there even is one?
We have been told by Bush and his representatives that Osama Bin Laden is the force behind this tragedy. I'll admit I was quick to say that it probably Bin Laden who did this. And the voice of America was very quick to yell for the blood of Bin Laden. They wanted revenge. They wanted vengeance. They wanted to see justice being served. And now the U.S. has declared war against terror. And anyone who doesn't help them, or hinders them in any way will become an enemy of what is the greatest military force in the world.?So everyone better belly up to the American bar or else they will pay the price.
America is attacking Afghanistan because they refused to hand over Bin Laden, but the Taliban made a good point by first asking for evidence that Bin Laden was responsible. So now Afghanistan is paying the price for having an unofficial militant political party leading their nation. And we assume that Osama Bin Laden is the perpetrator. I say assume, because I have yet to see the supposed proof that the FBI and CIA have collected. If anyone knows where I can go to see this info. please tell me. The respectable Mr. Tony Blair claims that he has seen the evidence, but he cannot share exactly what it is that proves that Bin Laden was behind this catastrophe. Is it the passport belonging to an Arab that was found near the WTC? Cause I am sure that something made of paper would survive an incineration of a plane exploding in a collision. Maybe I am cynical. Maybe it is from one of the hi-jackers. Maybe it's a miracle and it didn't burn up. But how do we know that it's the passport of a hi-jacker? If I am on a flight where Canadians are suspected terrorists, does that make me a terrorist? I think that the United States may need to provide better evidence if they expect what could be a long war to be strongly supported until if finishes.
Oh, but wait, no one cares. Everyone is happy to see something happen. If Bin Laden happens to be innocent of this incident he does deserve to be punished for previous incidents. And what happens after Bin Laden is killed?
He will become a martyr.
The nation of Islam places a strong emphasis on their Jihad. Or holy war. But there are two types. There is the holy war against personal sin. Everyone who is religious has this struggle. And then there is the war to defend the Islamic faith. Defend it to the death. If a Muslim dies while fighting for his faith then he is sent to Heaven wearing his blood stained clothes so that Allah can see that he died serving his faith. There is no purgatory. There is no accounting for one's actions. There is no defending of one's faith to Allah's angels. The dead soul goes immediately to heaven. No questions asked. Do you think Osama Bin Laden and his followers will be torn apart with strife when they see Bin Laden's body torn apart by American bullets? Or blown apart in a bomb blast? Nope. They will rejoice and claim that a great man has gone to Heaven to be with Allah. And what about the rest of the Muslims? Do you think they won't jump at the chance to go straight to heaven and find eternal peace?
There is a world full of people out there who would love to know that they will go to heaven when they die. They would finally be able to relax and not worry about the after-life so much. So a Muslim who is taught that dying for their faith guarantees a seat in heaven will no doubt take part in a Jihad if it is declared. They will all die for their faith.
Too many Christs and not enough crosses.?(Nick Cave)
I am not saying that all Muslims will do this. Far from it. I pray that the majority of Islamic people know better than to rise up and strike against anyone who isn't Muslim. But I think people have to realize what a war with the Islamic faith could mean. Even Mike Tyson understands what is going on right now. After his fight in Europe he knew better than to return back to America because of what happened. He wanted to stay away from all of the religious intolerance that has sprung up.
It was actually funny how after the WTC attacks, America claimed it was a time for everyone to join together and be patriotic. Everyone had to come together and help their fellow man. Everyone was equal in this time of need. Everyone, except the Muslims. The amount of religious intolerance that surfaced after the attacks sickened me. Labels were immediately given to anyone who was Islamic. And again, it wasn't everyone in America, but I am sure that the people who claimed unity were the same ones who yelled and harassed the Muslim people in America as they too tried to deal with the tragedy.
So please, do not assume that every Muslim is a martyr waiting for their cross.
I am so happy that I am in Taiwan while this is happening. The situation in America is just way too intense. I worry about Anthrax as much as anyone else, but over here the threat seems muted. Maybe I am closing my eyes to the situation, but the threat seems more real in America.
The sickest part of this is the amount of innocent lives that ended.
People keep saying how surprised that America was attacked. I am not surprised that they were attacked. Only in HOW they were attacked. Like Michael Moore pointed out, it's not like the U.S.A. is innocent in a global scale. They have their issues to answer for. But their punishment should not have been at the expense of 5000+ people. This event has opened a lot eyes all over the world. Clearly someone had it in for the U.S.A.. This was not a spur of the moment act. It had to be calculated and figured out months in advance. But what is the reason for the attack? What did the U.S. government do that would instigate an act like this? And worst of all, will these questions be answered?
If America goes into Afghanistan and kills everything in sight, then we may never know the reason for this attack.
I have never supported war. I have never seen it as a solution. I don't see the U.S.A.'s actions as the correct action in this situation. Justice must come, but at what price?
I don't think I will ever forget the feeling I got when Gloria called me and told me to turn on the news. I was shocked silent as I watched the WTC towers smoulder and smoke. Then all I could do was sit there with my mouth open and watch as the two towers fell from the NYC skyline. I couldn't believe it. It was like something from a movie. At first I thought it was a hoax, but that disappeared after about 0.5 seconds. Then I started to wonder who did this? How could they do something like this? And what is the U.S. going to do to get revenge?
Sadly I still feel only one of my questions has been satisfactorily been answered. After a respectable amount of time (although there is no time that could be long enough the life of over 5000 innocent citizens of America) the U.S. began its attack against terror. So we now know how they are responding. But who did this? And how did they possibly bring themselves to do this?
Everyone screamed for war. But we need to realize what war entails. Many people are going to die. Not just Bin Laden and his followers. Just today the paper talks of 13 civilians dying in a stray? American bomb. Even more innocent people will die and if Afghanistan retaliates, then even more Americans will die as well. This might not be as smooth of an operation as Desert Storm. This isn't a war against a specific country. It's a war against a religious nation with people all over the world. I admit that something needs to happen to ensure that the 5000+ dead aren't left unavenged but how much blood is enough to satisfy everyone's anger? And will the people responsible be killed? Is that justice? I don't think so. I think that they should be punished. Tortured. They should suffer for what they did. But the longer they are left alive the better chance it will turn into a human rights issue and people will demand their release. So what is the answer, if there even is one?
We have been told by Bush and his representatives that Osama Bin Laden is the force behind this tragedy. I'll admit I was quick to say that it probably Bin Laden who did this. And the voice of America was very quick to yell for the blood of Bin Laden. They wanted revenge. They wanted vengeance. They wanted to see justice being served. And now the U.S. has declared war against terror. And anyone who doesn't help them, or hinders them in any way will become an enemy of what is the greatest military force in the world.?So everyone better belly up to the American bar or else they will pay the price.
America is attacking Afghanistan because they refused to hand over Bin Laden, but the Taliban made a good point by first asking for evidence that Bin Laden was responsible. So now Afghanistan is paying the price for having an unofficial militant political party leading their nation. And we assume that Osama Bin Laden is the perpetrator. I say assume, because I have yet to see the supposed proof that the FBI and CIA have collected. If anyone knows where I can go to see this info. please tell me. The respectable Mr. Tony Blair claims that he has seen the evidence, but he cannot share exactly what it is that proves that Bin Laden was behind this catastrophe. Is it the passport belonging to an Arab that was found near the WTC? Cause I am sure that something made of paper would survive an incineration of a plane exploding in a collision. Maybe I am cynical. Maybe it is from one of the hi-jackers. Maybe it's a miracle and it didn't burn up. But how do we know that it's the passport of a hi-jacker? If I am on a flight where Canadians are suspected terrorists, does that make me a terrorist? I think that the United States may need to provide better evidence if they expect what could be a long war to be strongly supported until if finishes.
Oh, but wait, no one cares. Everyone is happy to see something happen. If Bin Laden happens to be innocent of this incident he does deserve to be punished for previous incidents. And what happens after Bin Laden is killed?
He will become a martyr.
The nation of Islam places a strong emphasis on their Jihad. Or holy war. But there are two types. There is the holy war against personal sin. Everyone who is religious has this struggle. And then there is the war to defend the Islamic faith. Defend it to the death. If a Muslim dies while fighting for his faith then he is sent to Heaven wearing his blood stained clothes so that Allah can see that he died serving his faith. There is no purgatory. There is no accounting for one's actions. There is no defending of one's faith to Allah's angels. The dead soul goes immediately to heaven. No questions asked. Do you think Osama Bin Laden and his followers will be torn apart with strife when they see Bin Laden's body torn apart by American bullets? Or blown apart in a bomb blast? Nope. They will rejoice and claim that a great man has gone to Heaven to be with Allah. And what about the rest of the Muslims? Do you think they won't jump at the chance to go straight to heaven and find eternal peace?
There is a world full of people out there who would love to know that they will go to heaven when they die. They would finally be able to relax and not worry about the after-life so much. So a Muslim who is taught that dying for their faith guarantees a seat in heaven will no doubt take part in a Jihad if it is declared. They will all die for their faith.
Too many Christs and not enough crosses.?(Nick Cave)
I am not saying that all Muslims will do this. Far from it. I pray that the majority of Islamic people know better than to rise up and strike against anyone who isn't Muslim. But I think people have to realize what a war with the Islamic faith could mean. Even Mike Tyson understands what is going on right now. After his fight in Europe he knew better than to return back to America because of what happened. He wanted to stay away from all of the religious intolerance that has sprung up.
It was actually funny how after the WTC attacks, America claimed it was a time for everyone to join together and be patriotic. Everyone had to come together and help their fellow man. Everyone was equal in this time of need. Everyone, except the Muslims. The amount of religious intolerance that surfaced after the attacks sickened me. Labels were immediately given to anyone who was Islamic. And again, it wasn't everyone in America, but I am sure that the people who claimed unity were the same ones who yelled and harassed the Muslim people in America as they too tried to deal with the tragedy.
So please, do not assume that every Muslim is a martyr waiting for their cross.
I am so happy that I am in Taiwan while this is happening. The situation in America is just way too intense. I worry about Anthrax as much as anyone else, but over here the threat seems muted. Maybe I am closing my eyes to the situation, but the threat seems more real in America.
The sickest part of this is the amount of innocent lives that ended.
People keep saying how surprised that America was attacked. I am not surprised that they were attacked. Only in HOW they were attacked. Like Michael Moore pointed out, it's not like the U.S.A. is innocent in a global scale. They have their issues to answer for. But their punishment should not have been at the expense of 5000+ people. This event has opened a lot eyes all over the world. Clearly someone had it in for the U.S.A.. This was not a spur of the moment act. It had to be calculated and figured out months in advance. But what is the reason for the attack? What did the U.S. government do that would instigate an act like this? And worst of all, will these questions be answered?
If America goes into Afghanistan and kills everything in sight, then we may never know the reason for this attack.
I have never supported war. I have never seen it as a solution. I don't see the U.S.A.'s actions as the correct action in this situation. Justice must come, but at what price?
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