Terrorism

We are approaching a dangerous spot in our nation that may soon start costing American lives.  In fact, we may already be at that spot.  And it began from an honest and thoughtful perspective, driven by genuine respect and concern for others.  So far it has randomly resulted in the loss of American lives although in some instances this “spot” blame for that loss of life cannot be absolute.  But unfortunately some can.  The “spot” I am talking about is a religious one that exists in a nation founded on religious freedom — freedom to pursue in privacy and without government intervention in that pursuit, and freedom from a government endorsed religion as was the case in Europe when early settlers came to America.  The “spot” has carried many names, most of which have been created and placed by angry people whose lives have been directly and/or indirectly impacted by this.  Some call it intolerance, some call it militant-ism,  some call it Islamism, and some call it Islamist terrorism.  Each of these labels are rejected by some and embraced by some.  But it is time in the United States to pause, take a long look at this phenomenon, in total honesty analyze the problem, its sources, its history, its objectives, and in intelligent conversation as emotionless as possible find a way to eliminate it.

My discussing this will anger some and embolden others.  There are those who will say “Attaboy, Dan.”  Others will shake their heads in disbelief that I could feel this way.  After all, Christians are to be known by “their love one for another.”  And for any Christian to speak out against someone of another faith is anti-Christian and contrary to New Testament teaching.  But the nature of this “spot” in American culture dictates that Americans must look closely at this and make some decisions about it — NOT about the people caught up in it, but these acts themselves.

Americans have been the most successful people on Earth through our short history — short in comparison to those in other countries — at approaching problems of every conceivable kind, analyzing, then upon understanding their origin and constitution craft ways for solutions and then implementing the corrections necessary.  This ability is one thing that has allowed the U.S. to assume and remain at the top of the tower of nations that constitute the World, for Americans have freely exported these “fixes” to our neighbors of all ethnicities, religions, and origins on Earth as they are needed.  No we have not cornered the market on ingenuity and the ability to do these things, but we created a culture of kindness to those on Earth less fortunate than us.

But we so far have failed at tackling this issue.  Why?  Simply because it contains cultural, social, ethnic, but mostly religious elements that have caused pause in the U.S. at even discussing it.  However, in similar cases in history, Americans have pushed through those roadblocks and addressed past problems and reached resolutions.  This one, however, is stuck in the mud of Political Correctness (“PC”).  Because of the fear — especially in the political process — of “PC,” hardly anyone speaks out.  And that has prohibited seeking, finding, and implementing a fix for this.  It seems that everyone is hesitant to even have a discussion of possibilities for fear of being branded by the “PC” Gang as Islamophobic,  because this problem IS Islamic Terrorism.

There, I said it.  So we got that out of the way.  Hillary Clinton couldn’t/wouldn’t say it….Barack Obama couldn’t/wouldn’t say it….members of Congress couldn’t/wouldn’t say it….but Islamic Terrorism IS the problem.  And it is killing hundreds, thousands, and even millions of people around the World.  It has found its way into the United States, and has randomly reared its ugly head from time to time to slaughter innocent Americans in the name of Islam.

Before we move on, let me point out one thing:  my saying what I said in the previous paragraph in itself exposes me to the cries of “Islamophobia” that have stifled any real conversations about this issue.  The “PC” answer to this?  Simply label me as Islamophobic without even a mention of what I have pointed out here and without any conversation about the one thing that has caused this conversation:  murder — no “SLAUGHTER” — of innocent men, women, and children by religious zealots who in the name of their religion take the lives of these innocents — sometimes randomly, sometimes as part of a plan — with no regard to morality, culture, or laws.  AND NO ONE DOES ANYTHING AS THE INNOCENTS DIE!

We will NOT get final answers in these few minutes.  But I hope we will begin a conversation.  And that conversation cannot be fruitful unless we put EVERYTHING on the table, including religion.  Why?  Much of this terror is done in the name of the terrorists’ religion:  Islam.  Follow me:

•  The god of Islam is NOT the God of Christianity.  I have heard that argument ad nauseum from the Left, but it rings hollow.  Why?  The God of Christianity (who according to the Bible has many names) is a Creator, an enabler, and a forgiver.  He is NOT a god of slaughter.  He created Adam and Eve for one reason and one reason only:  to create fellowship with HIM.  “For God so loved the World, he gave his only Son so that whoever believes on Him will not perish but have everlasting life.”  Jesus came to Earth in the New Testament to bridge the gap that had grown between God and the men he created for fellowship.  Yes, deep in World history God in anger at the acts men had committed (sin) against Him made them pay, and sometimes with their lives.  God cannot tolerate sin.  His son, Jesus, came to Earth to be the final sacrifice for the forgiveness of sin so that God could once again have that fellowship through relationship with Men.  The god of Islam is Allah, (and my typing that name is a sin against him according to the Quran) who loves some but does not love all.  The Quran shows classes of humans who are acceptable to the Islamic god and others that are not only rejected, his followers are instructed to convert them to Islam, make them slaves of Islam if they reject the religion, or kill them.  The God of Christianity in Creation gave Man the ability to choose, knowing that there are consequences to pay for whatever choices they make:  eternal life with Him or eternal death separated from Him.  But it is clear that Man was given “free will” to make those choices.
• Muslim people are not bad people.  Most are honest, hardworking, law abiding family people who love their god and their community.  The terrorists that plague their community and their religion do not speak for the majority of Muslims in the world, but the mantra used to somehow justify their travesties are in large part Islamic fundamentals detailed in the Quran.  Granted the extremists do what extremists do:  take a principle and make an extreme definition of its meaning to justify their actions.  (The same can be said for members of any religion and political faction for that matter)
• Islamist terrorists are simply playground bullies.  There are two problems with that:  they don’t just bully, they murder instead of beat up their victims; the teachers that police playground activities (in this case law enforcement officers) find their hands tied in considering actions by the threat of being labeled as anti-Islamists and facing legal consequences because of interference based on religion, which is a Constitutional violation.
• There is a massive conflict between American freedoms, laws, and the U.S. Constitution and the Islamist way of life:  its laws, customs, and culture.  This has resulted in the confrontations in the U.S. we have seen play out that result in the death of Americans at the hands of these Islamist terrorists who take their actions in the name of Islam and the Islamist god.  In U.S. Immigration history, it formerly was required for immigrants to take an oath to the Constitution, learn English, and commit to assimilate into American communities as Americans.  Muslim immigrants summarily reject that need to assimilate and actually demand Muslims form strict Muslim communities that are actually subservient to the Muslim law called Sharia.  Sharia is actually an antithesis to the Constitution.  (For exactly what Sharia law is, please from the home page of www.dnewman.org click on the post entitled “Sharia Law.”  You’ll quickly see why these extremists do not condone American laws and ideals)
• When this conflict surfaced in the U.S. a decade or more ago, it was hoped that members of the Muslim world would take care of those within their ranks who subscribed to this violence.  Unfortunately that has not happened.  And as Muslim immigration to the U.S. has increased and those American Muslim communities expand through population growth, the difficulty of being able to reconcile Islam law and lifestyle with American law and lifestyle has escalated at an alarming rate.  And the Muslim community has not intervened to take care of this as had been promised and hoped for.  That may be for fear of the extremists or it may be for a lack of desire to move forward under American law, but it has not happened.  And the problem grows.

So what do we do?  First please understand this fundamental:  all Muslims are not terrorists;  all terrorists (that have killed Americans in America in the last 15 years) ARE Muslims.  We do not have a Muslim issue;  we have a Muslim terrorist issue.

Don’t scream at me:  this is NOT an absolute Muslim problem.  I know there are radical Christians that in the past have bombed abortion clinics, burned churches, and propagated hate against non-Christians, but our today problem is a today problem.  With all of the above, we MUST find a way to stop the slaughter of people in the United States by people who do so in the name of religion.  And we need to formulate a process to make this happen.

Apparently our federal government has either neglected or failed to do so;  local and state government find their hands tied and cannot do so if the feds would even allow it.  So what do we do?

Here’s what I ask for all readers to do:  take a few minutes and craft an email….to ME….with at least one idea you have to assist America to stop domestic terrorism.  Please email me at dan@dnewman.org.  I will shortly compile a story using all the suggestions.  (No one’s email address or name will be included so you can make your thoughts known in total anonymity)  Will this take care of the problem?  None of us are in a position to unilaterally implement on a national basis to changes like this.  But remember:  the U.S. is a representative republic in which we elect those to represent us in D.C. to express our wishes, ideals, and suggestions.  it starts with US, not D.C.  We need to start.

Please as busy as you are do not ignore this.  This is an opportunity for us together to at least lay a “suggestion foundation” that I will gladly forward to representatives in Congress and to contacts within the White House.  I don’t think any of us are looking for credit.  We’re looking for answers.  And we don’t want to wait until we bury our husband, wife, child, father, mother, or fellow worker who dies at the hands of a domestic terrorist.  To stop it we must craft and implement a plan to prevent it….period.

Send me you ideas:  dan@dnewman.org.