--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, TurquoiseB <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, "jim_flanegin" <jflanegi@> wrote: > > > > I don't think you are giving the hopelessness and impotence > > the 'credit' it deserves when spawning terrorism. It is not the > > hopelessness and powerlessness borne of individual circumstances, or > > a run of bad luck, such as most of us in the wealthy and powerful US > > might imagine. > > > > It is a culture of generations of no hope, no power and no change. A > > culture that has grown to mistrust any authority or have any > > possibility for personal redemption, socially, culturally or > > economically. > > > > This situation is fertile ground for religious extremists, seeking > > power, who then trade the offer of meaning in the form of zealotry > > to these hopeless people in return for their lives. Hence terrorists > > are born. > > Well said, Jim. This is something that people who > live in our time and were raised in the affluent > West really don't understand. I've often thought > that the best thing that could ever happen to > America and Americans is to have some kind of > "compassion draft," in which every citizen is > required to travel in third world countries for > a year before they are allowed to vote and > become citizens. Most of them have never seen > the conditions they speak so glibly about. > > And this hopelessness is neither new nor limited > to religions like Islam. Do you know what the > "recruiting spiel" was to get people to volunteer > to participate in the Crusades? > > It's pretty fascinating. Life was tough in the > Middle Ages, and hopelessness was rampant then, > too. So the potential crusaders were promised > three things: > > 1. They were *guaranteed* heaven. All of their > worldly sins up to that point were forgiven, and > they were promised that nothing they ever did for > the rest of their lives would 'count against them.' > Pretty persuasive argument on its own for a people > who believed what their priests told them. > > 2. They could keep everything they could 'liberate' > while on crusade. This included property, jewels, > women, anything. > > 3. Interestingly, the clincher was the third 'guar- > antee.' While any member of a family was on crusade, > none of their debts could be collected. This was > rather important to many of the noble families, > because they were in hock up to their eyeballs. > > So it isn't just those 'other' religions who play > on the hopelessness of a hard life. The Catholic > Church almost invented the concept. > Interesting stuff-- kinda makes me wonder (tongue in cheek...) if religious 'extremist' is redundant...
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