My response

Here is a copy of my response to Rick...I really enjoy these debates!

First off, let me apologize if you took any personal offense to my response. I was frustrated at the original author, not at you for forwarding. I probably should have clarified that! I value your opinion & friendship and do not want to jeopardize that in any way.

I completely agree with you that we must be aware of the world around us. I understand that most Americans have no idea of the hate & anger that many people in the world, particularly the Muslim world, have for the U.S.

I think you are 110% correct that we need to be “aware”. Awareness is circular, however. To be aware you must understand all sides of an issue, i.e. understand where your enemy comes from. I also think awareness comes from differing points of view. I have seen you forward many of these “Islam is evil & wants to take over the world” emails but there are other Muslim voices & the trick, IMHO, is figuring out the dynamics between both and how significant the threat is on a global scale.

I too do not want to lose America . However, a strong America is not necessarily an America with troops all over the world & navies sailing the seas. Did you know our battle fleet is larger than the entire navies of the next 13 largest naval countries combined? Plus, 11 of those 13 are our allies. The cold war is over…lets take the billions & billions we spend each year maintaining that battle fleet and invest it in education & infrastructure in the middle east…that’s how you win hearts & minds of the people…not parking a Nimitz class carrier off the coast & flying “show the flag” missions along their border.

That’s not to say we don’t need a strong military…we do & we must have a deterrence force that is robust & real. Nevertheless, the United States has a $277 billion defense budget which accounts for 37% of the world's total. I bet we could still spend 20% & rule the world while we spend that saved money on better things.

My issue with the mass emails is that many, many people take what they read as the truth. It took me over 2 hours to research & write my original email. Very few people (ok, no one but my geek ass;) are willing to do that. But if you don’t, you end up believing Dr. Hammond and developing assumptions based on complete falsehoods. That’s scary!! That’s how stereotypes continue to grow & strengthen.

I am realistic that the world is changing & we must change with it. People love their freedoms…why do we preach freedom but not allow it when it doesn’t suit us? Remember the Hamas elections in Palenstein a couple of years ago? We said loud & far that we wanted the people to have democratic elections to choose their own fate. The Palestinians did & we dismissed the elections because Hamas won the majority. That appears hypocritical to everyone else in the world. By the way, the reason Hamas won the elections was not that the Arabs want to rule the world & love war. They won because for the 6 months before the election, they worked in the local neighborhoods developing the infrastructure by getting power, food & water to areas that needed it…they achieved results that benefited people’s lives…that’s what got them elected.

I feel that religion, as a whole, is the choice of everyone. No one religion has the right to impose its will on another or have a say in the affairs of state. Of course, Islam is and always has been intertwined with the state in Muslim countries. Since that is the culture, I don’t know how you change that (I don’t think you can). A country dominated by Islam should not infringe on other religions freedoms…and vice versa. I will say that Christianity does not have a long history in many parts of the world so I think it is hard to stabilize due to the already established cultures and religions in place.

No problem on the forwarded email to everyone…my religious views have changed…I am now agnostic & I especially dislike organized religions. However, I like to think that my values have not changed…in fact I hope that they have matured and improved. While I was religious in my youth, I have to say I was not the best person I could be. My wife & children have helped me realize the importance of life & how your actions reflect you as a human being. I believe that you do not have to be religious to be a good person or to have values…

I agree with you on the beheadings…but I am sure a Muslim would say that he can’t stand to watch another errant American bomb or bullet kill an innocent person. Or the humiliation of prisoners in Abu Ghraib. Indignation is usually in the eye of the beholder…

I seriously doubt that the United States will ever slip into Sharia Law. The risk of an open society such as ours is that we are tolerant of others…but I can not conceive of a scenario where we embrace Sharia Law. By the way Sharia Law has four main schools of thought or versions (like our Baptist & Lutheran) & only has to do with Sunni Islam…not Shia:

-Hanbali: This is the most conservative school of Shari'a .
-Hanifi: This is the most liberal school, and is relatively open to modern ideas
-Maliki: This is based on the practices of the people of Medina during Muhammad's lifetime.
-Shafi'i: This is a conservative school that emphasizes on the opinions of the companions of the Prophet Muhammad.

Only Hanbali is ever quoted in the west…it’s the extreme world-domination one…but not all Hanbali followers endorse Bin Laden’s interpretation of the Koran in this way. Sharia law is intended to be only applicable to Muslims. Christians and other non-Muslims are supposed to be exempt from the provisions of the law; this is a provision that is not universally followed.

Finally, I do agree that the God in public places debate is stupid…the majority of Americans are Christian and having religious symbols in public does not bother me. Interestingly, “In God we Trust” on our money was only added by Eisenhower in the ‘50s…so we do not have a long history of God on our money…but I do agree that trying to strike God from any public place is a waste of time.

So those are my thoughts so far…I enjoy the debate so feel free to jab back at me or dismiss it all…

Take care…Jon