The news today saddens me--in a different way than in the recent days
after the 11th. Now we read/hear of Muslim children being
threatened and terrorized in a school bus in Australia, and in nearby
Dayton, Ohio, stores owned by Arab Americans are vandalized, a
mosque threatened, and ordinary citizens warned of "retribution".
Elsewhere, a man who wears a turban because he is a Sikh from India
is harassed--
friends--this is not the way to fight terrorism---it makes no sense,
and only lowers us to their level. I am reminded of the photos of
terrified Catholic girls trying to walk through a protestant area in
Ireland--to go to school --since when do we see that as a "human" way
to protect ourselves ?
Someone posted the column written by Leonard Pitts, Jr. about
America's resolve. In his column today, he warns against just this
sort of thing, and concludes as follows :
"...the enemy is not the Arab people or the Muslim religion. The
enemy is fanaticism, extremism, intolerance, hate. The madmen who
commandeered those planes don't represent the followers of Islam any
more than the madmen who blow up abortion clinics represent the
followers of Christ.
Yes we're angry--we are supposed to be angry. We have a right to be
angry. but at the same time we must be wary of the places to which we
allow that anger to bring us. If we let it deliver us to the doorstep
of fanaticism, extremism, intolerance, hate, we might as well give
up now,. because everything that matters has already been lost."
Mr. Pitts has reason to know this--he happens to be not only a
rational man but also an African American.
--
Camilla Flintermann <[log in to unmask]>
on the web at http://www.geocities.com/camillahf/index.html
*** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** ***
"Our lives begin to end
the day we become silent
about things that matter..
...Martin Luther King,Jr.
*** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** ***
----------------------------------------------------------------------
To sign-off Parkinsn send a message to: mailto:[log in to unmask]
In the body of the message put: signoff parkinsn
