Toxic Distorters of original teachings
I've been watching CNN's series on religious warriors. It's a big hit, with over two million viewers.
My conclusion-- all of the religious fundamentalists-- these people who Christiane Amanpour characterizes as religious warriors-- are disgusting-- making war, killing, forcing others to live their way.
Joe Scarborough, mocking Amanpour's comparison of Christian parents who want their daughters to wear long skirts with taliban, jokes about how many people Jerry Falwell killed, assuming it was none.
I see it a bit differently. Falwell played a major roled in getting George Bush elected and in supporting the Iraq war, which has killed over a million people.
Then Scarborough suggests that the difference between Muslim extremists and Jewish and Christian extremists is terrorist killings.
The way I see it, all of them are intolerant and disrespectful of other religions, which makes all of them undeserving of the respect they demand. Let me be clear. I've said it before. Any religion that refuses to respect other religions' approaches to God does not deserve respect. That leaves out most of the "God's warriors" Amanpour covers.
Perhaps it is time for the masses of poeple who ARE tolerant and respectful of others' beliefs to take a stand, to speak out about the aggressive, offensive narrow-minded, intolerant Rabbis and Mullahs and Ministers who have made their money, built their power and influence by stoking mean-spirited, hateful, warmongering intolerance.
How would such a response look? How about some federal laws that treat entreaties for such approaches as illegal-- as a form of hate speech. If a minister tells his flock that he they are better, that their way is the only way, then that minister is committing a crime-- a hate crime, fomenting hate and intolerance.
If a nation forces its citizens, as a part of national law, to wear certain clothing, for religious reasons, it can't be a part of world globalization. Or maybe it would be better to put it in other ways-- if a nation forces its citizens to obey religious laws, it should not be allowed to be a part of the globalist world. Any nation can tolerate all kinds of religious rules and laws that members of the faith choose to accept and live by. The problem comes when the religious extremists attempt to force others, even resorting the religious police to force compliance, or when extremists act on their beliefs in ways that cause violent conflict, as is the case with the ultraorthodox Jewish settlers in the West Bank.
If a nation chooses to invoke religious laws, such as Sharia, they can make that choice knowing their intolerance will cost them participation in the World Trade Organization and other related globalist groups.
This planet's future depends upon cooperation and respect for differences. Those nations and cultures that refuse to acknowledge this reality will only cause more conflict, suffering and hatred. It is time for them to pay a price for their myopic holding on to the past and their toxic efforts to force their ways on the rest of the world.
