London Bomb

"If I make friends of my enemies, am I not destroying my enemies?" ~Abraham Lincoln~

Well, today is a sad day for our ally, England, for us as their friends as well. My alarm clock is set to a local news talk station and the first words I awoke to was news of the bombing. I heartily thought to myself, "How sad..." then hit the snooze button.

It has given me pause for thought. Had the news I awoke to been a bombing in some place closer to home, say Dallas, would I have reacted the same way? Dallas is 100 miles from here. Would I have simply thought, "how sad" and went back to sleep?

Like many people, I can vividly recall 9/11. Our initial reactions, I believe, are who we really are as a person. On 9/11 I was not in a sleepy state. I was not engulfed in a conversation about politics. I was just getting off break-time at work, almost 9:20 AM CST.

I was excited by news of such magnitude because it was such a big event, but at the same time confused and horrified. My first thought was the Palestinians had actually done something ferocious. The guy telling me had no idea.... not even who "Palestinians" were, so he told me it was them, he "guessed." I wanted to know if it was still happening, if it was over, if my family here in a small town were still safe. Those were my thoughts. I worried that the world may be engulfed in a war as I stood there holding a piece of 3 inch pipe. Was this the beginning of a new world war? How will affect my kids? I had an unquenchable thirst for knowledge about said event.

Every time a foreman walked by I asked for the latest news. On my lunch break, I did the unusual: I went home and turned on the TV. I called my X-wife for news of anything I may have missed and asked about the kids, even though they were in school. I watched, live on TV as Tower 7 fell. I had never even heard of "Tower 7," yet I felt like I was falling with it. My mind told me, "This is real. How do you handle it?" But my person argued that "It's just like the action movies you see where things blow up and people die. No big deal." That was unacceptable to me. I wanted to cry... even several days later.... for some unexplained reason, I never did.

In the following days worry overshadowed our country. Our initial reactions began to fade. Congress no longer sang at the White House. Debate began. The "heros" are recognized, now time to move on and think again. What do we do? Do we fight or look to the cause and stop that? Do we do both: fight for "justice" AND stop what may have started this?

Personally, I have changed in many ways, even how I view foreign policy in some aspects. But, no matter, is the bloodshed of innocence ok? The obvious answer is "no." Even to Al Qaeda. The difference is: "What is 'innocent?'"

To the Muslim extremist: only Muslims are "innocent." That's the way my understanding sees it. Our country is split in many ways, ways that I'll deal with later on. But for now, let's break it down to this: WHAT is "innocent?" Simply "innocent" is a perspective. I think no one can argue that. It is what you percieve it to be. The only thing that makes it mainstream is when a majority says it is. Well, supposedly. Perhaps it is what the mass media says it is.

Anyway, any group can call anything they want to "innocent." According to atheist, we're all innocent because there is no judgement. According to socialist, only those FIGHTING FOR capitalism (be they rich or the worker) are guilty. According to Christians, we are all guilty but are capable of forgiveness. According to Islam, unless you are Muslim, you should die.

Now, I understand the last statement is quite unfair. There are MANY Muslims that are anti-Al Qaeda and the extremist. I have heard they even have a group against Muslim terrorism. I'm very sorry I can't recall the name because they DO deserve recognition. But hear this: When it comes to terrorism when Muslims claim the responsibility, how about the so-called mainstream Muslims speaking out against them.

Sure, we all hear, "Islam is a religion of peace." But the question comes, "So, you think these acts of terrorism are evil and should be shunned?" And they respond with some crap like, "Well, they are acting of their own accord." "Ok, so you say they are wrong and should be punished?" And the cleric says something like, "We are a peaceful people. Allah ackbar! Allah judges all!" And the next Q may be something like, "So, the Muslim's that just beheaded the American on TV while screaming 'Allah Ackbar' and the writings in your mosque that say 'everyone NOT a Muslim should die' are wrong? Is THAT what you are saying?" And the cleric says something to the effect of, "Allah is good. He means peace. He wants what is good for all. What? Excuse me, my Koran is calling..... can we talk later?"
Yeah, I tell ya what, NON-Muslims want to hear more Muslims say that TERRORISM against ALL is BAD... even against NON-Muslims!

So, in any case, when a major event happens, do I simply hit the snooze button and roll over for details later? Well, in a sense, why not? What can *I* do about it? Nothing. If it hits close to home, here in my own town, what can I do? Absolutely nothing. All I can do is try to get to my family, my kids, and hope they are well. Also, I can hope that neither of us die in the process. Once I have hold of them, I can try to get us to safety and hope we come to no harm in that process. But that's still no garantee.

So, when do I NOT hit the snooze button? When do I wake up and do something? I suppose that depends on what ideas I have that CAN be effective and who with power will listen to them?

With that, let us all think seriously for a moment. Do you REALLY think that Bush, Blair, and other world leaders are NOT concerned about terrorism? Their families are targets too. Just because you think hiding under a rock makes you safe does not make you right. Bin Laden's extremists hate you because you are who you are, not because of where you hide.

Really, it has nothing to do with what country has people where. That is a farce, a distraction. They will use that as long as it works. The REAL TRUTH is, the Mid-East is the EXACT reason we have seperation of church and state. They have their church running the state and they are executing their "jihad" on non-believers the same as the Christians once did on "non-believers" in the Crusades. It's the very same difference. What, then, is the answer?

This is long enough. I'm about to quit writing. Send me your comments and we can share the thoughts and ideas together. I'll get into mine later on. For now... God bless England.... and her friends; my country, America; my state, Texas.

Another quick thought not related, but of note. This was brought to me recently by a dear co-worker. It hit home and shut me up. Most Americans believe we should allow prayer in school. Yet, most Americans do NOT pray with their own kids. Are we a hypocrite against ourselves? I do believe prayer should be allowed in school. Yet, I do not pray with my kids.... nor alone. I am proud to have a Christian upbringing and to be knowledgable about the Bible, yet I do not exercise the practices. If and when I DO pray, it is for others, not for myself, because to pray for myself seems selfish to me.

So, there's a thought for you.

Todays History: Sandra Day O'Connor is nominated by Pres. Ronald Reagan to be the first female Supreme Court Justice. She will be approved unanimously on Sep. 21. And now she has resigned.