There have been a number of very interesting posts that I would like to comment on, but have not done so. Sometimes having to work can be a big pain-in-the-ass, don't they know I want to blog.
So due to time restrictions I'll comment on one specific post and offer some remarks about the others.
Miriam has a post she called Recognizing the writing on the wall... in which she made the following comment:
"The last string of stories on Bloghead -- all basically about Jews' rights being curbed as a result of European and Canadian attempts to deal with their Muslim populations, or about Muslim anti-Semitism in the diaspora being supported by Western authority -- have left me a little depressed. (C'mon, Madonna, can't you do something stupid so I can have something lighter to blog about?)
Jews have had hundreds of years living in the West in which both parties have (mostly...) learned how to live with each other. The Muslim encounter with the West is at a much earlier stage and is still very rough, causing massive problems of integration.
Nevertheless, we're all being lumped together -- because all 'minority religions' must be treated the same -- and Jewish religious liberties, some of which we had to fight hard to win and then fine-tune, are now under consistent assault because of the Western difficulties integrating Islam. To make matters worse, because the Muslim electoral power is always so much greater, Muslim sensitivities far outweigh those of Jews in the eyes of those in power.
So far, off the top of my head," Click here to read her list.
I think that we are in a time of great unrest and uncertainty throughout the world. It is a period of change and opportunity to influence change. The challenge with this is that change can be very scary and the reactions of some people to change makes that very clear.
Some will call me naive, but I do not believe that we are living in more dangerous or tumultuos times relative to some other periods such as points during WWII, the Cold War and depending on your Race/Religion/background you can add other points such as my great-grandparents problems with the Cossacks or Black Americans fight for civil rights.
The reality is that even with all of the problems we face today the people who live now generally do far better than many of the past. The distinction now is that there is a glut of information available and processing/understanding all that is coming in is a real challenge.
Life is still about whether you act or react to the experiences we have. Far too often we just react instead of acting. For example there are people who run up their credit cards until they are maxed out. They don't consider the potential problems of such debt leaving that little issue for a later date at which time they will react to whatever they have to do to fix their problem.
Others act by planning for the future and saving so that they can live or purchase items that make them happy.
It is a very simplistic example, but I believe that it translates into many areas of life.
Flipping back to Miriam's post I think that is a good reminder as to why it is better to be proactive than reactive to problems. I'd write more but I am forced to return to a more pressing engagement. This seems to happen all too frequently to me.
Back later.
1 comment:
I don't think Europe will "reign in" the extremists by suppressing what in the United States would be considered civil liberties. On the contrary, these measures will only exacerbate the very currents European governments are hoping to eliminate. In fact, I'm quite sure the governments realize it very well. It's interesting that while they attempt to legislate religion, when it comes to speech, the extreme political correctness is being ignored.
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