September 30 thoughts

Freedom of speech, an inalienable American right, is fast spreading as an inalienable human right across the globe.  The accessibility of a podium through technology has made it possible for anyone and everyone to opine freely on whatever topic is dear to their hearts.  This is a good thing.  And a bad thing.  The world now feels more and more like a school yard, with individual and nations being the kids in the yard. Parts of the world where ideologies driven by a small group had a stranglehold have found they no longer can wield as much control as they could even a year ago. On one side, every lunatic’s hate-filled voice can be heard across the world in seconds.  On the other, we have a victim mind-set, waiting for somebody to breathe the wrong way so a death sentence, a price on the head of the offender and those of similar ilk can be handed out. Who’s to blame?  Who is more at fault?  The provoker who knows exactly what words to use to evoke the most fury, ruffle the most feathers, and most deeply wound delicate constitutions?  Or the self-proclaimed chosen people who are more than happy to show the world just how quickly they will kill and injure hundreds of innocents in retaliation, whether the victims are their own brothers, sisters, and country-folk or not. Is this driven by any religion?  Does this even make sense?  Of course it does not.  For it to make sense, a people would actually follow the example before them 1400 years ago, and forgive – not try to kill an 11-year-old learning disabled girl and her family for purportedly burning some pages of the Koran.  Which by the way, as it was found out later, were actually planted by the imam of the mosque. No.  This is not religion.  This is a distortion of religion by some on both...