Wow. You are kidding right? You are skeptical that anyone ever commits murder, and on a grand scale, for religion?
WHAT is so hard to believe about that???
I think what you are missing are lessons from history, and of course the words of the radicals themselves as they pledge to wipe us of the map. No kool-aid required. Just a little reality. Not eveyone wants to 'just get along'. Wake up.
You know what, sometimes all I have are hunches. Nothing definite, just this little feeling down my spine. Doesn't count for much in the REAL world, but it carries a little weight in my mind.
I had a hunch that 9/11 didn't have anything to do with iraq.
I have a hunch that our leaders are full of Ish.
I have a hunch that the talking heads on the television are up to something, as if they are collectively one large blanket thrown over the heads of our country.
I have a hunch that when people tell us that "There's a threat! People want to kill us! Lets go get them first!", we have the responsibility to think about it a little more than we have in the past, rather than just haul off and liberate another mess.
I have a hunch that there are less religious radicals than the talking heads would have you believe and more simple normal average people who only want what we would want in their shoes.
I had an epiphany one day while out camping with some friends (a lot of friends in the desert, wah hoo). I was trying to coax a buddy of mine into going out and gathering wood with the rest of us and he just didn't want to go. I cajoled him, berated him, begged him, EVERYTHING just to get him to get his butt out the camp and in my truck to help gather some firewood. I finally muttered 'piss on em' and we took off for wooden riches beyond our wildest dreams. While out and about, it really struck me funny how everyone in the truck seemed to move like ants when it came to loading up heavy brush and dead trees, and how easily we all communicated more with grunts and knods than actual words. That's when it hit me. We're all still just cavemen. Every one of us. Cavemen with cadillacs, ipods, hdtv's, and the works. That's why we still do the things we do, all around the world. Every single one of us wakes up in the morning with (more or less) the same goals in mind, the same desires for ourselves and those we call friends. It's also the reason why I tried to get my buddy on the bandwagon. It's just how we work. When gearing up for the afghan/iraq wars, we want all our buddies to join the bandwagon. C'mon, lets go do this! Yet when some wish to remain, for whatever reason, we act the same way. And when the lead caveman/president starts flapping his arms and pointing "This way! This way!" we gave him the benefit of the doubt. It's just how we work. Yet for some inexplicable reason, all I have is this hunch that he's not leading us to firewood.
While this may not have made the most sense, it's difficult to put the experience into words. It kinda influenced why I believe the things that I do. It's also why it bothers me when people say that "All our enemies are religious wackos". Would it not be more accurate to say "All our enemies are the children of their parents, many of whom have familys much like ours, who know that they are fighting against the most razor-sharp and advanced military might that's ever been seen on the face of the planet, and yet continue to fight anyway.
We're all human. If in another's shoes, we'd probably be walking in the same direction, And to generalize a whole resistance as just simply being 'religous wackos'...just seems like a step towards making them easier to hate...but whatever works for you.
