Good morning, Lowell! Lowell C. Savage wrote:
> Good evening, Dave! > > Thanks for the "step back and look at the big picture" posting. I wonder > if one small part of the reason that this country has managed to return to > being "Americans" after an election is that the election is followed in > close order by "Count your blessings" Thanksgiving and "Remember what is > REALLY important" Christmas. <SNORT!> That's a fair point! >> I am stunned at how many people do not understand the meaning of history. >> The recent poll among Americans that suggests that almost HALF of all >> Americans believe we, as a nation, should restrict the civil liberties of >> Muslims living in the United States makes a statement that not only do >> most Americans not understand history, they do not care about it, either. > > I'm afraid I miss the allusion, here. I certainly agree that it is a bad > idea to restrict the civil liberties of Muslims, but I'm not sure I > understand what history you are referring to. That was inaccurately-written, but the fact remains, this country was formulated on the basis of civil liberties for all. Read on, however, as I admit once again, to committing a gaffe... >> We have become what we fear most-- a petulant band of miscreants who >> refuse to admit the Muslim faith was here, active and vibrant for nearly >> 2000 years *before* we invented God in our own image. > > Uhm. Are you confusing Judaism with Islam? Mohammed didn't arrive on the > scene until the 6th century, AD--approximately 6 centuries AFTER the > events celebrated by Christmas. Yes, that is an unconscionable gaffe that crept into the logic here. However, the Christian faith we know today was not "invented" nor came to life until the post-Reformation, which is an interesting fact. If we compare Christianity 2000 years ago with today, or, in particular, if we study Christianity in the pre-Reformation with Christianity as we know it today, the two are shockingly dissimilar. However, if we study Islam today and shortly after its birth, the vision remains quite similar, if not the same. I apologize for the misstatement regarding Islam. It's sometimes hard to keep track of all the Prophets. Although very much off-topic here, I'm sure Frank, being a good student of history, would probably extend his blessings to a thorough discussion of the implications of the Reformation. I *like* the various depictions of the Pre-Reformation as done by historians. They make the pre-Reformation sound like Times Square on New Years Eve sometimes. ;-) > Also, America has had its run-ins with radical muslims before. Remember > the > "Barbary pirates"? The Marine Hymn gets it's "shores of Tripoli" line. Good point! >> History decrees that those who refuse to learn the lessons of history and >> liberty neither deserve nor will long keep their liberties. While that >> vast statement is probably open to debate, and probably will be argued >> until long after the end of my life, the fact remains that history seems >> to prove the statement's accuracy. However, to this statement I add >> several things that its original author(s) forgot to add: > > I believe it was George Santanya who wrote that "History repeats itself, > first as tragedy, then as farce." That is very truthful, isn't it? If we examine the horrid events of 9/11 we first see the tragedy, and now, peering more closely, we see the farce. It is quite logical and, for once, we are historically correct, no? Dave -- Dave Laird ([EMAIL PROTECTED]) The Used Kharma Lot Web Page: http://www.kharma.net updated 11/24/2004 Usenet news server : news://news.kharma.net Fortune Random Thought For the Minute Oh, wow! Look at the moon! _______________________________________________ Libnw mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] List info and subscriber options: http://immosys.com/mailman/listinfo/libnw Archives: http://immosys.com/mailman//pipermail/libnw
