We both know we will not find another religion in the U.S. that will mirror the extreme threats that we find in other parts of the world. We are an affluent nation and our society is built on being a “melting pot of culture”. We have our own challenges.
The further away an action or an idea is from the political, ideological or moral center of a society or group, the more radical or extreme it is. It is extreme when violence is advocated. Political
agendas that are often viewed as radical are the “far right”, “far left”, “fundamentalists”, “fanatics”, “nationalists”, “militarists”, “authoritarians”, “dictators”.
In our country, Fundamentalism started out within religious groups. Religious Fundamentalism refers to the belief that Holy Scripture is infallible, inerrant, and historically accurate and followers adhere strictly to their basic principles or fundamentals. Fundamentalism also means strong adherence to any set of beliefs, religious or not, in the face of criticism and resistance.
Islamic fundamentalists restrict themselves to literal interpretation of their texts and some Islamic conservatives advocate the replacement of secular laws with Islamic laws. This is like the more conservative Christians here advocating changes in the law to reflect their views, such as the push for Creationism or prayer in schools as one example.
More liberal Muslims drop traditional interpretations of the Koran which they find too conservative and prefer readings more adaptable to modern society. Some liberal Muslims favor the idea of modern secular democracy with separation of church and state, and thus oppose Islamism as a political movement. The existence or applicability of Islamic law is questioned by many liberals.
In America, examples of the Far Right include: Ku Klux Klan, an assortment of Neo-Nazi parties, the Nation of Islam, the Jewish Defense League, The LaRouche Network, The Christian Right, and The Church League of America. Examples of the Far Left include: The Communist Party, Marxist-Leninist Party, Progressive Labor Party, Black Panther Party, Socialist Workers Party, Workers League, etc. Other examples of extremists in America are some militia groups and religious cults; some cults end up in mass suicide, other militia and paramilitary groups generate individuals willing to bomb government buildings.
People usually use behavior as a guideline to judge someone’s actions. What motivates an individual to act is the sum of their values, the consequences of past experience, the intensity of their emotions attached to similar experiences and what they gain from their action in relationship to their system of values. Values, by the way, are not negative or positive.
Buddhists follow the eightfold path in their quest to free themselves from suffering and as a system of self-improvement; these eight steps toward self-improvement are having the Right Views, Right Thoughts, Right Speech, Right Action, Right Livelihood, Right Effort, Right Mindfulness and Right Meditation. They all start with “Right” and having the Right Views is the essential starting point of the path. Having the Right Thoughts will free you from desire and temptation, anger and irritation, and harming others through foolish speech or action. Ever hear the popular phrase “Do what you want but do it in moderation.”
Haggis wrote:
[James Hilton’s character Chang once said, “It is possible that many religions are moderately true.”
That always stuck with me. It gives me my own personal yardstick by which I judge the value of any religion. So, in turns I am argumentative, supercilious, and - the despised bane of modern Liberalism – judgmental.]
(From Wiktionary: Supercilious) 1. Arrogantly superior; showing contemptuous indifference; haughty. Contempt = expressing disdain; showing a lack of respect.
I had never heard that word before.
Supercilious sounds like a combo of “Super” and “Silly” in a funny and harmless sort of way but you define yourself pretty accurately as far as I can judge by your posts. You come off as arrogant and contemptuous and maybe that explains why many posters have left the bulletin board over the last couple of years. Those aggressive posts where you pick apart every paragraph and idea that oppose your thinking and are so intent on “smashing to smithereens” all opposition…. I think you tend to mirror the extremists you are trying to fight; not in action but in thought and I’m not sure what number to assign you on a scale from 1 – 10. I think you lack, from a Buddhist perspective, the Right Views, the Right Thoughts and the Right Speech.
In my online search engine bumbling to find a more balanced perspective on Islam, I found the following "one" report which is less skewed than your posts (in my opinion):
http://pewglobal.org/reports/display.php?ReportID=248I do find it challenging to filter the bias and emotional intensity that clogs the blogs.
I find your posts challenging; they challenge my thinking, and that’s good (to me). I spent the weekend thinking about you, your comments and your approach to fighting Islamic terrorism. I Googled (poorly or not), and I read news, and blogs from different viewpoints, and I got lost in my thoughts about what are the right thoughts to have, the right values to have, the right response and action to produce posts that inspire or instill “Right Action in Others”. I forgot about my immediate family and their needs. So, with this post, I may or may not respond to you any further because I feel it will not alter your opinion and it will take time away from what is more important to me personally. Although, I feel I should respond to your questions and comments because you deserve that out of respect. But, I spend most of my day working on others’ medical priorities, and I may be slow in response to your posts.
So, if you want to fight Islamic extremists, you should consider talking to Islamic Liberals (although that word makes you cringe); isn’t it ironic. Instead of boasting about being a conservative, maybe you should aim toward being a moderate. A little respect and civility toward others would help you advance your opinion.
