I’m waiting . . . still waiting . . .
Waiting for a high-ranking Muslim cleric to utter the
words—“this is not Islamic. Those who perpetuate such acts are acting counter
to every tenet of religious thinking under Islam. Islam is a religion of peace,
and these people have converted it into a religious force of death.”
Yes, I am awaiting such a statement from any high-ranking
Islamic cleric. But, no, it’s waiting for Godot, I think. Even worse than
waiting for Catholic hierarchy in the bad old days to denounce priests for
defiling little children, or their housemaids.
The latest (suicide??) bombing in Kabul killed many innocent
folks, and the Taliban gladly claimed credit.
This would be like Charlie Manson announcing to the LA Times—“I just got
my latest kill, folks. Still thinking about the next one”.
But the Islamic faith just keeps on truck’n, as though
nothing is wrong with Islam. After a time, a religious order gets to be defined
by onlookers, even especially, onlookers who do not belong to that faith. I understand
that Muslims the world over really hate it when non-Muslims decry their faith
and lump all Muslims as actual or potential terrorists. But I have to say, until someone begins
stepping up to the altar of public opinion and denouncing the fools who blow up
innocents, so as to obtain their 72 virgins, the global denunciations will keep
on coming. It’s time for Muslim Clerics to
denounce the Taliban and all the other Muslim terrorist groups who kill innocents,
just to prove a point.
Which brings me to our year of 2014. Why, well because of its resemblance to
1914. Remember 1914? That was the year
that someone shot and killed the Archduke Ferdinand and kick-started WW I. Remember WW I? That was the war that killed
some ten million folks and laid the groundwork for that other war, WW II that
killed way more than ten million—60-85
million, but who’s counting?
Are we in that same state of mind now? Well, almost the whole
of the Middle East—let’s see Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Afghanistan, now routinely
see folks blown up or otherwise killed by one ethnic cleansing agent or
another. All in the name of religion (aka power). Now the thugs have extended their
reach to South Sudan and the Central African Republic, again all in the name
of ethnic cleansing of one type or another (again, really just power acquisition).
Then I observe the Europeans, who should know better,
squabbling amongst themselves, with the British on the sidelines tossing darts
at them. Some of the ideals are at least similar to 1914, similar enough to
cause concern. Would the Europeans begin to cease squabbling and begin yelling,
and then, as Europeans are wont to do, begin tossing inflammatory objects at
one another? Well, we hope not, but hope is starting to get lost here in the USofA, where squabbling has
shifted to name-calling—lying, yelling and
corrupt moves to poison the well of democracy.
The growing income inequality and the means by
which the rich in this country attempt to subjugate the poor and the shrinking
middle class are also reminiscent of the early 1900s. Listen to Doris Kearns Goodwin,
author of a book on TR and Taft: “To be sure, Roosevelt had faced a pernicious
underlying crisis, one as pervasive as any military conflict, or economic
collapse. In the wake of the Industrial Revolution, an immense gulf had opened between
the rich and the poor; daily existence had become more difficult for ordinary
people, and the middle class felt increasingly squeezed.” She goes on to say, “Yet
by the end of Roosevelt’s tenure in the White House, a mood of reform had swept
the country, creating a new kind of of presidency and a new vision of the
relationship between the government and the people.”
Sound familiar?? Two differences: 1) we don’t have a Teddy
Roosevelt in office, nor is there a TR waiting in the wings; 2) we have a right
wing press now—the Faux News Network--
that is not really a news outlet at all. It could best described as the PR wing
of the royalty core of the GOP. We also
have a supportive unit within our Supreme Court—led by Tony and his houseman
Clarence—that has declared that corporations are folks like you and me and that
money is speech. So, unlike the early
1900s, when TR began reining in the dukes of the land, our Congress now opposes
any attempt by our president to enact any controls over the wealthy. So, for the time being, the dukes of the land
reign supreme—meaning the Koch’s and others of their ilk are free to despoil
our fair land in any way that pleases them.
This separation of the rich from the poor, and the
increasing attempts by the GOP to eliminate the middle class, strikes me
as at least similar to the ethnic wars
that rage throughout the Muslim world. Theirs are based on religion. Ours are
based on money (but maybe there is no real difference between religion and money).
I’m old, so it may not matter for me. But it will matter for
our grandchildren, who are still trying to figure out their way in this world. I worry for them, but worrying is fairly
useless. I suppose, it’s what
grandparents do—worry. I keep hoping (no
hope is not yet dead) that the middle class and the poor will finally
understand that they are not powerless. They can vote and they can denounce the people
on the right who are bent on destroying their future. But will they?
We’ll see. Meanwhile, I wonder what’s happening in
Sarajevo??
