When we become that which we oppose, we loose. We loose when we respond to:
1. Hate with hate.
2. Abuse with abuse.
3. Violence with violence (not precluding reasonable force to restrain).
4. Lies with lies.
5. Slander with slander.
Wednesday, December 17, 2014
The Truth Will Set You Free
"And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” (John 8:32).
I had a mate at Richmond in the mid 70s that had married a girl from Sri Lanka or another former British colony in that part of the world. At school she had been taught about the terrorists in her country. Following independence school children were taught about these same people - except that they had become freedom fighters.
There are always two sides of history - that of the victor and that of the vanquished. That of our political masters and that of the other peoples political masters.
I had a mate at Richmond in the mid 70s that had married a girl from Sri Lanka or another former British colony in that part of the world. At school she had been taught about the terrorists in her country. Following independence school children were taught about these same people - except that they had become freedom fighters.
There are always two sides of history - that of the victor and that of the vanquished. That of our political masters and that of the other peoples political masters.
We in the west are not taught the same history as those in the Middle
East. From our perspective the Crusaders were defending the holy land
from the infidel. From the Moslem perspective it was the Moslems
defending the holy land from the infidel. I remember as a kid watching a
TV show about Richard the Lion Hearted and his noble conquests on the
crusades.
We know the history of the holocaust and the settlement of the modern state of Israel as a safe haven for Jews. Moslems can tell us every act of terrorism carried out by the Zionists as they displaced the Palestinians.
Arabs and Persians (Iranians), and the various tribes of each, have hated each others guts for centuries. But all these tribes also know the history of Western interference and betrayal and it is this hatred of the West that can unite them.
A mate of mine spend a few years working in Dubai. He was told one day by one of his Arab mates that if it was not for Israel the Arabs would be tearing each other apart.
Its not only the Middle East that has long memories. A Catholic mate of mine and his brother were hitch hiking through the Republic of Ireland some years back when they were given a lift by the local Protestant minister.
'What's your name?'
'Fitzgerald'
'You Fitzgeralds! Your great-great-great ... grandfather ...'
Also a long memory that saw decades of violence.
So what am I trying to say?
Perhaps if we in the West were to be honest with our history, to admit to the historical wrongs our side have done, and to try and avoid those same mistakes in the future, we might begin to diffuse some of the anger on the other side. And if we did that perhaps we could give ISIS and their ilk less ammunition to play with in their appeals to the Arab/Iranian world.
We know the history of the holocaust and the settlement of the modern state of Israel as a safe haven for Jews. Moslems can tell us every act of terrorism carried out by the Zionists as they displaced the Palestinians.
Arabs and Persians (Iranians), and the various tribes of each, have hated each others guts for centuries. But all these tribes also know the history of Western interference and betrayal and it is this hatred of the West that can unite them.
A mate of mine spend a few years working in Dubai. He was told one day by one of his Arab mates that if it was not for Israel the Arabs would be tearing each other apart.
Its not only the Middle East that has long memories. A Catholic mate of mine and his brother were hitch hiking through the Republic of Ireland some years back when they were given a lift by the local Protestant minister.
'What's your name?'
'Fitzgerald'
'You Fitzgeralds! Your great-great-great ... grandfather ...'
Also a long memory that saw decades of violence.
So what am I trying to say?
Perhaps if we in the West were to be honest with our history, to admit to the historical wrongs our side have done, and to try and avoid those same mistakes in the future, we might begin to diffuse some of the anger on the other side. And if we did that perhaps we could give ISIS and their ilk less ammunition to play with in their appeals to the Arab/Iranian world.
Reformation and Islam
The Church of the Middle Ages was no better than the Islamic State of
today. Heretics were tortured on the rack, burnt at the stake, and
hunted down by the Church. It has been said that the Waldensian Valleys
ran red with the blood of the martyrs - those who refused to bow to the
bishop of Rome.
Crusaders were sent to the Holy Land to fight the Infidel on the promise that if they died on the crusade they would go straight to Paradise, bypassing Purgatory. Sound familiar?
The Church controlled the universities and the educated used their authority to reinforce the doctrines and corrupt practices of the Church to protect their own vested interest. The Bible was printed in Latin and interpreted by the Priests in harmony with the decrees of the Bishop of Rome. Those who challenged the authority were given the choice of recantation or excommunication - or worse. I suggest some similarities to the fundamentalist mullahs of today.
Crusaders were sent to the Holy Land to fight the Infidel on the promise that if they died on the crusade they would go straight to Paradise, bypassing Purgatory. Sound familiar?
The Church controlled the universities and the educated used their authority to reinforce the doctrines and corrupt practices of the Church to protect their own vested interest. The Bible was printed in Latin and interpreted by the Priests in harmony with the decrees of the Bishop of Rome. Those who challenged the authority were given the choice of recantation or excommunication - or worse. I suggest some similarities to the fundamentalist mullahs of today.
There were, however, courageous men and women who gave the people the
Bible in their own language, who challenged the authority of the Church,
and encouraged people to interpret the Bible for themselves.
The Protestant Reformation and the accompanying Renaissance liberated Europe and broke the power of the Church in those lands that embraced the Reformation. And that gives us hope.
Taliban and IS hate education, unless of course the educated are those that back their cause. The last thing they want is for people to think for themselves, hence the attack on schools and women who want an education.
Some Moslems will always buy into the hate doctrine, and some people will always seek to use education for evil. But history tells us that education liberates. It took centuries to beat the Medieval Church, so we should not expect IS and their ilk to be defeated over night. But, with proper support, I believe we can encourage educated Moslems around the world to challenge the crazed, especially where they have begun to enjoy the freedom of the West and can make comparisons with life 'back home'.
The Protestant Reformation and the accompanying Renaissance liberated Europe and broke the power of the Church in those lands that embraced the Reformation. And that gives us hope.
Taliban and IS hate education, unless of course the educated are those that back their cause. The last thing they want is for people to think for themselves, hence the attack on schools and women who want an education.
Some Moslems will always buy into the hate doctrine, and some people will always seek to use education for evil. But history tells us that education liberates. It took centuries to beat the Medieval Church, so we should not expect IS and their ilk to be defeated over night. But, with proper support, I believe we can encourage educated Moslems around the world to challenge the crazed, especially where they have begun to enjoy the freedom of the West and can make comparisons with life 'back home'.
Monday, December 8, 2014
Modern Australia - mate, we've come a long way
Australia.
Ok, we're not perfect and have a few skeletons in the cupboard. But
compared to a lot of other places we have done pretty good.
White Australia started out as a dumping ground for convicts and then became a land of hope for people who had no future in the UK. Our forebears worked hard to build a decent future for their kids.
They pulled together through famine, flood, fire, depression and war.
We talk of Aussie values - standing by your mates, sticking up for the underdog, giving a bloke a fair go. That's where we came from.
And, as we developed we began to do things for the next generation - universities, health care, education, and a social welfare net to look after those who had somehow fallen through the cracks through no fault of their own.
But somehow its all gone wrong. Now those government support systems that were meant to look after the battler, those down on their luck, or to give someone a hand up are seen as entitlements without obligations. No need to work, no need to go without, just squeal about entitlements, especially if it looks like they might be reduced or you might have to do something for them.
We are fast becoming a two tiered society - those who have and those who have not. Pull together - stand by your mate. What does that mean? The underdog - kick him in the guts while he's down.
Modern Australia - mate, we've come a long way.
White Australia started out as a dumping ground for convicts and then became a land of hope for people who had no future in the UK. Our forebears worked hard to build a decent future for their kids.
They pulled together through famine, flood, fire, depression and war.
We talk of Aussie values - standing by your mates, sticking up for the underdog, giving a bloke a fair go. That's where we came from.
And, as we developed we began to do things for the next generation - universities, health care, education, and a social welfare net to look after those who had somehow fallen through the cracks through no fault of their own.
But somehow its all gone wrong. Now those government support systems that were meant to look after the battler, those down on their luck, or to give someone a hand up are seen as entitlements without obligations. No need to work, no need to go without, just squeal about entitlements, especially if it looks like they might be reduced or you might have to do something for them.
We are fast becoming a two tiered society - those who have and those who have not. Pull together - stand by your mate. What does that mean? The underdog - kick him in the guts while he's down.
Modern Australia - mate, we've come a long way.
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