I've lost so much faith in my fellow man

Submitted by Pope Mobile (United States), Oct 21, 2008 at 17:37

This is completely absurd. Some of you need to look at what you're typing. You sit there are internet rage about how his former pastor is guilty of hate speech, yet you spew hate yourselves.

We all know the old adage "judge someone by the company they keep." It's partially true. I am not my friends. I am not my associates. Judge me for who I am, what I do. Do not judge me based upon what my friends or associates do. Judge me by what I do.

Do I enjoy the same things as my friends? Yes. We watch movies, go to the bar, play video games, hit up the driving range. We even share some of the same beliefs. Not all, however. Several of my friends and I disagree on several stances (such as abortion, gun control, religion and capital punishment). If one of my friends decided to shoot someone or bomb a building, am I at fault? No.

Grouping all Muslims together as radicals and extremists is so ignorant it's beyond belief. I do and have known several Muslims, non of them tried to convert or kill me. They're normal people who merely have different beliefs, customs and clothing than I do. Was the Muslim family I saw down at the beach last month trying to convert everyone? No. They were enjoying a day together, just like every other person there.

There are radicals on both sides. There are Christian, Muslim, Jewish, etc. zealots that will stop at nothing to convert or kill every last man, woman and child.

The radical Muslims are mad at us because we made them mad. We built military bases on what is, to them, holy land. We've tampered with their governments, interfered with their conflicts and taken their land to suit our own needs and desires. The Middle East has been a region in conflict for an extremely long time (to put it lightly). We cannot, seriously, think we're able just go in and expect a warm welcome. Especially after all we've done.

If we sit here doing nothing but spout hate (most of which is stemmed from fear, sadly) nothing will be accomplished, and more people will die. Someone has to stop their finger and say "Wait. Let's sit down and talk about this. I'm upset about something. You're upset about something. We need to discuss the situation and come to a compromise." Hate solves nothing.

The conflict between our cultures goes far beyond the life of America. This didn't start with those two towers. It started hundreds of years ago. Countless people have lost their lives in what boils to a difference of belief.

No one is always going to belief what you belief.

Does it matter if Person A is a Muslim or Person B is a Christian? It doesn't nor should it. Should Person A be denied something that Person B receives only because he holds a different religious view? No.

This country was founded on the belief that all men are created equal. I believe that to be true. Unfortunately, not everyone does.

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