Clash of Civilizations- Arab Civilizations

With the recent Arab protests over an anti-Islam film, I’m weighing the critical aspects of this. The protests were bloody at times, and fed an assault by Islamic fighters on the American consulate  in Benghazi, Libya last week that killed four americans including the first ambassador killed in service since 1979, another time of severe unrest and Arab uprising. In a familiar message, insulting the prophet must be met with public outcry, and that translates into, "lets kill americans".

Slain Ambassador Christopher Stevens and a photo of the burning consulate buildings during the battle-ap photo

 

In an article in the Denver post, ap writer Brian Murphy  quotes an Imam in Qatar, Egyptian-born cleric Youssef al-Qaradawi, who calls for ‘sense and reason ‘ in their protests. But he’s up against a powerful popular force that feels passionately that denigration of the prophet is punishable by death.

"Yes, we understand the First Amendment and all of this stuff," wrote Khalid Amayreh, a prominent Islamist commentator and blogger in Hebron on the West Bank. "But you must also understand that the Prophet (for us) is a million times more sacred than the American Constitution."

Read more: Muslim protests have political, social, economic origins - The Denver Post http://www.denverpost.com/nationworld/ci_21558392/muslim-protests-have-political-social-economic-origins?source=pkg#ixzz26jG8wzHe
Read The Denver Post's Terms of Use of its content: http://www.denverpost.com/termsofuse

 

I have never thought of our constitution as a secular document. It is written with the spirit of God, and written by men dedicated to God and to passing His word on to their countrymen.  Our forefathers’ ambition was to create a country where one’s religion was not attacked, no matter what religion it was, though they hoped all would have some kind of strong religious convictions. Yes, even then it was a balancing act to not let organized religion overpower the people’s government in its decisions and such.

In its essence, the Constitution they created says that all men, being equal, must account for their individual actions as well, and be responsible for propelling our country into a prosperous nation.  The doctrine of Islam, as interpreted by extremists, is a much different assessment of human character and it’s need for guidance.

I feel uncomfortable, and at times mental anguish when subjects, such as Jesus Christ are portrayed in a denigrating way. I oppose those who slander or seek to diminish Christ and his teachings, but nowhere in the bible does it say to “humiliate and punish those who do not succumb to and voluntarily accept” His religion. Therefore, like most Americans, I walk away when someone does this, I shun them, not silence them. This is the essence of free speech. To sacrifice this basic right, would be to invite obvious further incursions into the state of liberty Americans so cherish.

 

-katykarter

More lost notes

“The Virtuous North and the Sinner South”

The Eurozone is a bit of a mystery to me.

All those countries, with countless years of history, binding themselves together…

I think it’s a lot like the United States. We just came along at a later date. In simplicity in extreme, Europe took our idea of the good of all states through a central government with the same currency.

Europe though, has been inhabited for thousands of years. Each country passed on for generations upon generations, each country, or state, sovereign unto itself. Some rich some poor, all with traditions and culture. The European Union, or Eurozone was created recently, where the rich states (Germany, Netherlands,  Sweden, etc) and the not so rich states (France, Belgium, Spain, Greece, etc) became equals. Their money was now the same. What made it unworkable was that their debt was now the same too. When one country accounted for a percentage of the debt payment, another country accounted for much less. While one country produced and invested, another encurred more and more debt through spending.

Now in 2012, The EU is embroiled in a feud over “austerity measures”. These are painful cutbacks in spending. Austerity is being plain with no sauce. You get what you need but that’s it - until these measures are lifted by the shrinking debt.

 Germany and the Virtuous North are demanding that the failing economies of EU member states such as Greece, Ireland and now Spain (whose credit rating was recently downgraded 2 notches!), must take on these harsh cutbacks. This is looked upon with contempt from the Sinner South, who resent being told what  to do by Germany. In the linked article, France is close to electing  Francois Hollande, an opponent of the EU agreement and of Nicolas Sarkozy, whom he’ll replace as France's new President.

But what do I know, I’m just a hick from the sticks.

-katykarter 

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/comment/ambroseevans_pritchard/9234926/Hollandes-Growth-Bloc-spells-end-of-German-hegemony-in-Europe.html

Who's to blame for the death of Trayvon?

(Note: This is the challenge. It will take about ten minutes to read the following. See if you can answer the question at the end. Honestly.)

The Fiber of America is the set of values we were taught and which we incorporate into our lives willingly. Our forefathers were wise enough to recognize the importance of Godly values in a society. Hamilton, Franklin and Washington were emphatic: A person who didn't go to church or didn't have God in their life wasn 't suitable for citizenship in the new nation. Even Jefferson couldn't argue the fact that these values, although rooted in religeous observance and practice, were universal in a just society where the rule of law treated all of the citizens equally.

And it's these values that have gotten diluted in recent generations: the greatest generation was raised with high moral standards as the turn-of-the-century family was a strong unit in the US. During their lives, the Baby Boomers were raised in a prospering nation, and the war years drew the citizens closer for their mutual survival. But subsequent generations weren't raised with as strict demonstrated adherence to these values. The 60's 'free love' movement was destructive to the morality of the nation, and this moral decline continues with significantly less religeosity in the general public.

Right now, a cultural blemish is on our nation. An indifference to suffering and violence, and a kind of paranoid-response mechanism towards adversity. Whenever anyone is offended or disappointed in any way, there seems to be a feeling of reciprocation instead of critical thinking. In other words, you've offended me: how can I get even?

It was clear ten years ago that kids no longer considered it possible to fight without the mortal decision being "a given". Guns were so prevelant and kids were too quick to shoot each other. This is not to be confused with gang violence. True gang violence in mostly commercial: there's money and territory involved. With teens and wanna-be gangstas there's a glorifying of the gangster lifestyle, but there's no real teeth in their actions. These teens want to appear tough to their peers, as teens have always felt the need, but with the ease in aquiring guns, there are many mistakes made. Fatal mistakes.

But guns aren't the cause of the deaths at the hands of a gunman, it's the person holding the gun. It's the choice to use deadly force. Its the path that person has taken to get to this point: How did it come to this?

In the Trayvon Martin case, he was walking, after dark through a residential neighborhood which had been enduring burglaries and vandalism in recent months. So much so, the community association put together a watch program. While on watch, volunteer George Zimmerman shot Trayvon after an altercation which was witnessed by several different people from several different vantage points.

There are many points to be made out of how this story was presented by the media, how it was percieved and how it took off across the nation. Now there are daily protests in the streets of not only the town where the killing took place but across the country. These protests are peaceful, and call for the resignation of the percieved guilty parties, but they foment bad feelings, and it's especially trajic when the facts of the case are bearing out the fact that Trayvon was the aggressor.

The most important point to be made has to do with personal responsiblity and its the crux of the crisis our country's morality is going through. Why would anyone ignore the truth to persue a path they know in their heart is false? They are blinded by pride!

Pride ignores the personal responsibility and seeks out like offenders to deflect blame. Pride seeks elsewhere for the cause of the problem when in the heart, we know we are to blame. Pride refuses to acknowledge the mistakes and bad choices made in the past, and makes us look for someone or something to blame for the trajedies that befall us.

Pride is a powerful force in self-deception so the question is clear: "Can we be honest with ourselves?" , and if so, lets admit our guilt and set a course to repair the problem. Ultimately, we need living examples to fortify our will and resolve. Kids need role models, true, but I think we all need role models.

Won't you please become a role model for your brothers and sisters around you? If you become a leader, your neighbors will look to you for reinforcement in this new, exiting way of personal responsibility. this new way of working and striving with obvious joy will effect the children.

Hope and change will emerge, as will a new day for all of us.

-katykarter

Man Harrassed for anti-Obama message

"Reject Pipeline Jobs and US Energy...then off to Disneyland?"

A Harris County, Tx man was harrassed in his driveway today for this message he'd spray painted onto the rear windshield of his suv.
John G. was coming out of his house this morning and a deputy sheriff's cruiser was idling at the foot of his driveway. As John approached, the deputy driving it rolled his window down and told John to remove the message.
John had no intention of removing it and invited the deputy to take a hike. Soon after a second unit arrived and a verbal exchange ensued.

John G., as you may know, is a strong supporter of individal liberties as well as law enforcement. He is also a CIVCOMP co-creator, my good friend and a believer in justice: the sooner the better!

Since the Obama administration denied the approval of the Keystone Pipeline, and thereby denied thousands of jobs in many states, it is made clear the priorities of this administration in regards to jobs and prosperity against environmental lobbyists and added regulation, increasing the government's influence.

This well known penchant for deciding in favor of lobbyists and additional government spending drags us as a nation and an economy away from our recovery and future prosperity!

And to make matters worse the Obamas have gone on another vacation, this time to Disneyland!

This is a very highly charged election season, and President Obama is trying to secure another 4-year term in office. With the recent downturn in our economy, the reduction in our nation's credit rating and shifty (to put it mildly) dealings in the financial sector- specifically the Federal Reserve Bank and the results of it's recent unprecedented audit, the American people are being stretched further and further from having the means to survive and economic collapse.

Wild spending during this president's term so far has been excessive and unabashed. It's time to put someone with the nation's best interests TRULY first in his or her priority.

And as to whether it's proper for public servants to intimidate a citizen in regards to political free speech, we'll soon see what the official reply is from The Harris County Sheriff's Office. Contact them for comment at 281-492-3500 or Sheriff.garcia@hctx.net

-Katykarter