Thousands of Islamic worshippers have been staging marches and riots in many countries to protest some cartoons that appeared first in a Danish newspaper in 9/05. These very angry Moslems felt the cartoons insulted and defamed their beloved Prophet, Muhammad, Peace Be Unto to Him. They shouted their demands for apologies from European countries, screamed until they were hoarse, rioted in the streets, killed people, and burned a few more buildings. An artful and ironic touch was watching screaming, militant, fascist Islamics standing on the Danish flag (a Christian Cross) as they expressed their fierce anger about how "their religion" had been insulted by some cartoons.
These cartoons are, of course, just the lastest in cartoons and jokes that insult and defame another hated religion. Middle Eastern and Arab newspapers routinely run cartoons insulting Israeli Jews and American infidels, it probably was a right wing Christian Danish newspaper that ran the cartoons defaming the Prophet Muhammad, Baptists insult Hindus in cartoons, fundamententalist Christians in American insult other religions and atheists in cartoons and jokes, and Islamic bullies blew up the ancient Buddhist stone statues at Bamiyam to insult their religious neighbors, and on and on. After insulting and laughing at their hated enemy, some get even angrier, and then they allow themselves to enjoy the thrills of violence, destruction and murder.
Christians killing Moslems in Bosnia, Communists killing reactionaries in the Gulag of Siberia, Islamic militants killing infidel Americans in New York, Isralei Jews and Moslem Palestinians killing each other, Christian Americans killing Atheistic Communists in Vietnam, Nazis killing everyone the could in Europe, Catholics killing Protestants in Europe during the Reformation, Moslems killing Buddhists in India, Crusaders and Islamics killing each other in the Middle East and Central Southern Europe, Hindu Indians and Moslem Paskistanis slaughtering each other, and on and on. What a wild world of zealous fervor for ideologies, religions, and the Fatherlands. For centuries, all of these fanatic religious and political groups have spread hatred for each other, persecuted each other, and killed each other.
After I read the writings of the “Prophets” of Islam, Christianity, Communism, and Judaism in my youth; I closed these books, gave them away, and moved on to a higher wisdom. To let these religions make you so angry, hateful, vengeful, and closed-minded can bring little good or peace or happiness to our personal lives, our communities, or the world. This level of ignorance is not bliss, it is deadly.
The next time God knocks, for goodness sake, please don’t send another prophet to the door.
What we need is more dance, yoga, Tai Chi, gardening, friendship, art, tolerance, brotherhood, and peace; and far far far less religion.
“I’ve made an odd discovery. Every time I talk to a savant I feel quite sure that happiness is no longer a possibility. Yet when I talk with my gardener, I’m convinced of the opposite. ”
- Bertrand Russell
“That man is successful who has lived well, laughed often, and loved much, who has gained the respect of the intelligent men and the love of children; who has filled his niche and accomplished his task; who leaves the world better than he found it, whether by an improved poppy, a perfect poem, or a rescued soul; who never lacked appreciation of earth’s beauty or failed to express it; who looked for the best in others and gave the best he had.”
- Robert Louis Stevenson
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