This has been gnawing on me for a day.  Finally, as I was out on the
mountain bike oxygenating my brain this morning the reason that this one
statement below bothered me crystallized.

On Fri, Sep 14, 2012 at 7:16 AM, Steve Smith <sasm...@swcp.com> wrote:
>
>
> The shrill voices against Islam (or even "ahem" Mormons) are not helping,
>


Tolerance is a highly over-rated "Christian value".  That whole 'turn the
other cheek thing' simply provides the excuse to allow ludicrous, immoral,
or downright evil actions to be allowed to continue unabated.  Want
examples?

   - child sex abuse in the Catholic church
   - atrocities committed in the name of Islam
   - Hitler's Brown Shirts, The Hitler Youth Program
   - cult religions -- I know: that doesn't narrow the field at all.  Ok,
   let's be generous and define Jim Jones' cult, Scientology, and the Morman
   thing as "cult religions".  Why? because they all evolved during modern
   recorded history. The events that led to their emergence are all clearly
   recorded for all who care to read about it.
   - the other religions
   - political corruption

Why did each of these things evolve and prosper, if only for a period?
 Because sufficient numbers of people tolerated them.

Respecting a person's right to believe in a cause that clearly resonates is
one thing.  Tolerating irrational, abusive, and amoral actions performed in
the name of those causes itself comprises an amoral act.

Just because people have the right to believe in whatever value set appeals
to them does not mean that they are not sometimes due criticism.  To hide
behind the veil of "tolerance" in the face of clearly amoral (or perhaps
just plain stupid) behavior is to allow these anti-social behaviors to
spread like the cancer they are.

But, (be aware, complete and total reversal is coming): perhaps the human
race deserves no better than to be forced to stand out in the middle of
this shit storm we have created.

Finally, as a strangely related side-note: look at this global
fundamentalist Islamic uprising that was caused because some asshole made a
movie which depicted Mohammad  as a philanderer.  And now compare this to
the reaction when "The Life of Brian" was released in 1979.  You cannot
possibly say that TLOB was any less respectful to the cult figure named
Jesus than this latest opus was to the cult figure named Mohammad.  Yet
here we are with the political correctness police grilling Nakoula Basseley
Nakoula over "The Innocence of Muslims."

Ludicrous.

--Doug

-- 
Doug Roberts
drobe...@rti.org
d...@parrot-farm.net
http://parrot-farm.net/Second-Cousins
<http://parrot-farm.net/Second-Cousins>
505-455-7333 - Office
505-670-8195 - Cell
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