Pay attention please. Please.

[[DvT]UY]

A man whose family was German aristocracy prior to World War Two
owned a number of large industries and estates. When asked how many
German people were true Nazis, the answer he gave can guide our
attitude toward fanaticism.

"Very few people were true Nazis "he said," but many enjoyed the
return of German pride, and many more were too busy to care. I was
one of those who just thought the Nazis were a bunch of fools. So, the
majority just sat back and let it all happen. Then, before we knew
it, they owned us, and we had lost control, and the end of the world
had come. My family lost everything. I ended up in a concentration
camp and the Allies destroyed my factories."

We are told again and again by "experts" and "talking heads" that
Islam is the religion of peace, and that the vast majorit y of Muslims
just want to live in peace.

Although this unqualified assertion may be true, it is entirely
irrelevant. It is meaningless fluff, meant to make us feel better, and
meant to somehow diminish the specter of fanatics rampaging across
the globe in the name of Islam. The fact is that the fanatics rule Islam
at this moment in history.

It is the fanatics who march.
It is the fanatics who wage any one of 50 shooting wars worldwide.
It is the fanatics who systematically slaughter Christian or tribal
groups throughout Africa and are gradually taking over the entire
continent in an Islamic wave.
It is the fanatics who bomb, behead, murder, or honor kill.
It is the fanatics who take over mosque after mosque.
It is the fanatics who zealously spread the stoning and hanging of
rape victims and homosexuals.
The hard quantifiable fact is that the "peaceful majority" the
"silent majority" is cowed and extraneous.

Communist Russia comprised Russians who just wanted to live in
peace, yet the Russian Communists were responsible for the murder of
about 20 million people. The peaceful majority were irrelevant. China's
huge population, it was peaceful as well, but Chinese
Communists managed to kill a staggering 70 million people.

The average Japanese individual prior to World War 2 was not a
warmongering sadist. Yet, Japan murdered and slaughtered its way
across South East Asia in an orgy of killing that included the
systematic murder of 12 million Chinese civilians; most killed by
sword, shovel and bayonet.

And, who can forget Rwanda, which collapsed into butchery. Could it
not be said that the majority of Rwandans were "peace loving"?

History lessons are often incredibly simple and blunt, yet for all
our powers of reason we often miss the most basic and uncomplicated
of points: Peace-loving Muslims have been made irrelevant by their
silence.

Peace-loving Muslims will become our enemy if they don't speak up,
because like my friend from Germany, they will awake one day and
find that the fanatics own them, and the end of their world will have
begun.

Peace-loving Germans, Japanese, Chinese, Russians, Rwandans, Serbs
Afghans, Iraqis, Palestinians, Somalis, Nigerians, Algerians, and
many others have died because the peaceful majority did not speak up
until it was too late.

As for us who watch it all unfold; we must pay attention to the only
group that counts; the fanatics who threaten our way of life.

Lastly, at the risk of offending, anyone who doubts that the issue
is serious and just deletes this email without sending it on, can
contribute to the passiveness that allows the problems to expand.
So, extend yourself a bit and send this on and on and on!! Let us hope
that thousands, world wide, read this - think about it - and your families
stake in this time of history...........send it on.

[{DvT}Sapient6]

I absolutely agree that fantatical islam is a problem. It pains me greatly, therefore, that we invaded Iraq instead of Saudi Arabia.

[{OF}DMW]

Originally Posted by {DvT}Sapient6

I absolutely agree that fantatical islam is a problem. It pains me greatly, therefore, that we invaded Iraq instead of Saudi Arabia.

Afookinggreed!

[{DvT}Sapient6]

As an interesting side note, our next target appears to be Iran. Certainly Iran's current figure head is an evil son of a *****, but despite what ground they've lost with him Iran has -- in the bigger picture -- been moving away from radical Islaam. Meanwhile Saudi Arabia is as backwards as ever and continues to teach violence and hate to its children, and despite lip service from their monarchy they've made absolutely no move to change that practice.

But we won't go after Saudi Arabia. Between Opec and Bush's deep, deep family ties with Saudi Arabia, doing so isn't even on the radar.

Not saying we should go to war with them, I'm just saying if we're going to pick another Bad Guy to go to war with, then Iran is a shitty choice.

[{DvT}JonahHex]

Without dismissing your comments on Saudi Arabia, how does Iran's alleged pursuit of atomic weapons figure into your analysis of Iran as a bad choice of bad guys to go after?

[{DvT}Sapient6]

Originally Posted by {DvT}JonahHex

Without dismissing your comments on Saudi Arabia, how does Iran's alleged pursuit of atomic weapons figure into your analysis of Iran as a bad choice of bad guys to go after?

It figures like this: If we were to invade Iran there's a possibility we could put a halt to their nuclear program (I question our chances of success not because I think our military would have trouble doing it, but because I question our willingness to pay all the bills we'd have to pay in order to get it done). So maybe we topple them and stop their nukes, maybe we don't. What isn't up to question is whether we'd do more harm than good. Iran as a country has been westernizing for some time now, and while they don't love us, given time they're going to become more and more like us.

Show up and start murdering their babies, and well, the lefties there are going to lose what little influence they've got. That puts their society under complete sway of the conservatives, which means losing all the ground they made trying to shed the trappings of fanatical islaam.

The truth is that we aren't going to stop nuclear weapons from proliferating throughout the middle east. It is going to happen. So if we determine that hell or high water we're going to force all these people to hate us with every ounce of their being, well we're going to pay for it down the road. Westernize them, even though it takes a long time, and then we won't need to be nearly so concerned about their nuclear weapons.

[[DvT]UY]

They seem to hate us regardless...being infidels an all.

[{DvT}Sapient6]

Originally Posted by [DvT]UY

They seem to hate us regardless...being infidels an all.

That is exactly my point. To a growing number of people in Iran we are not infidels, just assholes. Going in and murdering their babies might be counter productive, you know?

[{DvT}WaRHawK]

Originally Posted by {DvT}Sapient6

That is exactly my point. To a growing number of people in Iran we are not infidels, just assholes. Going in and murdering their babies might be counter productive, you know?

Bro... they hated us LONG before we showed up in country. And I think most of the credit for killing their young lies within their own ranks.

[{DvT}JonahHex]

The problem isn't where you think the credit lies, it is where they think the credit lies.

Basically we are talking about a blood feud here...a vicious circle of retaliation, vengence, and "justice." Once started, almost impossible to stop.

One possible way of understanding this Islamic extremists viewpoint is this: God commands them to kill infidels. Because it is God's command that infidels must die, it is their responsibility to kill infidels; the infidels' responsibility is to die, as commanded by God. There is no rationale that an infidel can espouse that can possibly negate God's commands. Of course, the infidel is equally convinced that he has a God-given right to protect his own life. Both then operate under the same paradigm:

My God can beat your God.

The only way this kind of thing stops is when both sides are too tired to continue.