|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
A reply to AlexandrosReader comment on item: Disappearing Christians in the Middle East Submitted by Kepha Hor (United States), Dec 24, 2012 at 19:59 As an American, let me make a stab at answering your question why the US Government is aiding and abetting those who are driving the Christians out of the Middle East. Many American social democrats (erroneously called "liberals") probably feel that if they had any courage at all, they'd treat the Christian population here the way the Syrian rebels are treating the Christians in Homs and Aleppo and the way the Muslim Brotherhood treats the Copts in Upper Egypt. Unfortunately for them, the American "Bible Belt" corresponds pretty much with the deer hunting and varmint shooting belt, where a lot of ordinary citizens are armed and know how to use their guns. Now, while that part of the country is, paradoxically, considerably less prone to crime than the major urban areas of strict gun controls, it probably can get riled, and our current leaders know it. Further, there are lots and lots of Evangelical Christian young men in the ranks of our armed forces, so if Mr. Obama tried to take Harry Belafonte's advice and arrest all conservatives, he'd probably face a mutiny from the people entrusted to carrying out the task. Note as well that when our ambassador to Libya was murdered, Mr. Obama's first reaction was to blame it all on an obscure video by an obscure Coptic immigrant rather than to admit that even after the killing of Osama Bin Laden (justifiable, in my opinion), the Qaida narrative still has wide resonance in the Islamic world. When an obscure backwoods preacher burned the Qur'an (not something I'd approve of), this administration first went on the attack rather than politely remind the Islamic world that the American Imam who tells his flocks that Jews are apes and pigs is protected by the same First Amendment Free Exercise Clause that protects the ill-advised Mr. Jones. Finally, Mr. Obama's administration ordering religious employers to provide abortion and contraceptive coverage to employees shows that our Constitution's First Amendment is expendable when it comes to pleasing political clients. And, while Mr. Obama protests that he is a "Christian", the church which he belonged to in Chicago was the kind that says being authentically "Christian" means hating white people. I guess Assyrians, Maronites, and Copts aren't quite dark enough to pass muster. The reason this did not become an issue with out major media when Mr. Obama was running for office the first time is because the white social democrats who run that industry really and truly think that non-whites are sort of backwards and can be excused for such things, despite all their lip-service to the idea of human equality. Also, back when much of the world believed that "a new Christ has been born in Russia" (roughly 1917-89), the US suffered policy setback after policy setback because it chose to be skeptical--indeed, I doubt that even Ronald Reagan really believed that his successor would witness the Soviet collapse when he started nibbling at the outskirts of the Soviet Empire. Now that Islamic radicalism is on the upsurge, the Obama administration probably thinks it's catching the wave of the future by supporting it. And, it may just be the case that while the Islamic militants are snickering "First Saturday people, next Sunday people", the worshippers of Ba'al and Moloch now sitting in the American courts, universities, and corridors of power are snickering, "First Sunday people, then Saturday people, and then Friday people". Note: Opinions expressed in comments are those of the authors alone and not necessarily those of Daniel Pipes. Original writing only, please. Comments are screened and in some cases edited before posting. Reasoned disagreement is welcome but not comments that are scurrilous, off-topic, commercial, disparaging religions, or otherwise inappropriate. For complete regulations, see the "Guidelines for Reader Comments". Reader comments (40) on this item
|
Latest Articles |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
All materials by Daniel Pipes on this site: © 1968-2024 Daniel Pipes. daniel.pipes@gmail.com and @DanielPipes Support Daniel Pipes' work with a tax-deductible donation to the Middle East Forum.Daniel J. Pipes (The MEF is a publicly supported, nonprofit organization under section 501(c)3 of the Internal Revenue Code. Contributions are tax deductible to the full extent allowed by law. Tax-ID 23-774-9796, approved Apr. 27, 1998. For more information, view our IRS letter of determination.) |