Yesterday, a shocking announcement instilled joy, patriotism, fear, and confusion into the hearts and minds of Americans. Barack Obama addressed the nation with the following words (click HERE for full transcript and video):
"The United States is not –- and never will be -– at war with Islam. I’ve made clear, just as President Bush did shortly after 9/11, that our war is not against Islam. Bin Laden was not a Muslim leader; he was a mass murderer of Muslims. Indeed, al Qaeda has slaughtered scores of Muslims in many countries, including our own. So his demise should be welcomed by all who believe in peace and human dignity."
I would like to draw attention to "Bin Laden was not a Muslim leader" and say THANKS to President Obama for spelling this out for those who do not already know it. It seems that most prejudice against Muslim people, and all middle eastern people for that fact, is rooted in misconceptions of terrorism. The post 9/11 world is no easy place to live for any one who identifies as Muslim or looks middle eastern. Whenever fear is involved, people turn nasty. 9/11 scared people- it hurt them- and human nature tells us that someone needed to take the blame. This seems terrible to me. WHY WHY WHY do people use hate to combat hate?! A simple math problem (I know, I know, sorry to make you do math) proves that this "method" of resilience is not only ineffective, but counter productive:
Hate + Hate = More Hate
The death of Osama Bin Laden provides fuel for people to act cruelly towards their fellow Americans, and human beings. Stereotypes, prejudices, ignorance, and cruelty are all too common; we can and we must stop them. Please take a minute and read these articles (linked) that show the impact of discriminating against "terrorists," "radical jihadists," and adherents of Islam (because "Islam is the Devil").
So, again, I want to thank President Obama for recognizing a very important distinction; hopefully people who stereotype and judge will recognize their failings and correct them. Only then can we come closer to peace.
Glenna! I'm really glad you brought this up! I was actually just talking about this sort of thing with a friend of mine who's father is Muslim. Over the summer, someone started blaming the 9/11 attacks on the Muslim religion in general, (this was a status posted referring to the Mosque/Community Center that might have been built in NYC). My friend got really upset at this guy's generalization of Muslims. I also thank President Obama for bringing this issue to light, it's a reminder all Americans need. We get so caught up in anger sometimes that it's tough to separate truth and what we would like to be true, in regards to anything not just the war, terrorist attacks, etc. It's scary to think how many people just assume the religion entirely is at fault, but my question is: Do you think it is likely that peace would be brought if stereotypes ceased?
ReplyDeleteGlenna- I too applaud Barack Obama for making the important distinction between fighting against Islam and fighting against a person who practices it, for reasons completely unrelated to that person's religion. This is one of many reminders that Barack Obama is one of the smartest, most qualified, most progressive, and all-around coolest guys ever to work in the Oval Office. I totally agree with your social equation: "Hate + Hate = More Hate", and I think another leading parent of hate is fear. As one of my favorite little green heroes, Yoda, says, “Fear is the path to the Dark Side. Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to suffering.” Fear is what led the US to interning thousands of innocent Japanese-Americans after the bombing of Pearl Harbor, and after the attacks of 9/11, fear gave root to a lot of prejudice against people who are of Middle-Eastern descent, or even just people who appear to be. Hopefully with more peaceful, diplomatic rhetoric like that coming from President Obama, the levels of both fear and hate will fall in the US.
ReplyDeleteThank you, both, for your input!
ReplyDeleteEmily- I think that if stereotypes cease, world peace will have a CHANCE of existence. Keeping in mind what Madelyn says, that fear causes stereotypes, it makes sense that once fear, I believed caused by ignorance (because in reality we all mean well, otherwise people would not act as they do. They wouldn't do something they thought was wrong) THEN peace will come. So if we eliminate the ROOT of stereotypes, then yes, the world would be a more peaceful place.
Madelyn- Thank you for your insight, and that of eceryone's favorite big-eared-inter-galactic-buddy! Great connection to past events, obviously America still has a lot to learn from its previous mistakes! History does NOT have to repeat itself!