Speaking of optimism, I’ll bet you didn’t know there are Arab Muslim libertarians espousing common sense, respect for human life and generally Western friendly values. But there are.
So here I am, an arab muslim egyptian male, and I am well aware of all the history and the injustices and all the other excuses we all know and are ready to spout on a second’s notice, and yet I can’t seem to care about those people anymore. For me, as far as I am concerned, they want me dead. Not me personally, but if I die for being in the wrong place on the wrong time, they wouldn’t really care. And you know something? I am not really ready to die. I don’t wanna die. I want to live. I have places to see, parties to go to, girls to sleep with and children to screw up raising. And if it’s between me- or you for that matter- and 100 of those Koran thumbing allahu akbar shouting misogynistic racist jihadist assholes, it is no contest: I choose us. They’ve got to go. It really is that simple.
Sandmonkey is significant because he gives me hope for the future I want to see – a future where tribalism, fundamentalisms and other the other bass ackwards pre-21st century self-destructive memes have actually died out like they should. As technology shrinks the world, there is less and less room for inbred thinking. The Middle East can evolve voluntarily, which I would prefer, or it can be forced to evolve, which sadly, is what seems to be happening. But enough modern prophets like Sandmonkey can tip the balance back in the direction of a peaceful march towards progress.
Reason. It’s the only thing that differentiates us from animals. When humans reject it, they become monsters.
There is an ideological war going on in regards to Islam and in our societies I believe, and the Jihadis are winning. There are 3 reasons why they are winning: 1) The reluctance of the moderates amongst us to admit there are problems that need addressing, thanks to our stupid belief that “we shouldn’t air our dirty laundryâ€; 2) Because in any debate between the moderates and the extremists, if there is to be a compromise, it will always be in the extremists favor; and 3) Because the extremists, if they face defeat, they will just threaten their ideological enemies, if not issue a takfir Fatwa on them, which will lead to a moron attempting to- if not succeeding in- killing them. And because of those 3 reasons I am the extremist that I am today.
As Sandmonkey points out, you cannot reason with an extremist, you must yourself become one in order to combat the original extremism. However, a reasoning extremist will draw a conclusion such as this:
You see, we can’t fix our problems without addressing them, so I therefore make sure to point out the negatives all the time, because I believe that it is our duty to fix them, and that if we do fix them, then no one will be able to criticize or attack us. And that, in the eyes of many, makes me an extremist and a self-hater. Fine, whatever. But someone has to do it, and since very few are stepping up to the plate, I guess it has to be me. And that’s the first reason why I am an extremist.
Whereas, an unreasoning extremist draws conclusions such as this:
Q. Why do you hate Americans?
A. Americans are a lowly people who don’t understand the meaning of principles. . . . Our enemy, the target – if God gives Muslims the opportunity to do so – is every American male, whether he is directly fighting us or paying taxes. (Isma’il)
Q. Why do you hate Israelis?
A. We are sure of our victory against the Americans and the Jews as promised by the Prophet: Judgment day shall not come until the Muslim fights the Jew, where the Jew will hide behind trees and stones, and the tree and the stone will speak and say, “Muslim, behind me is a Jew. Come and kill him.” (Nida’ul Islam)
Idiot. People have been claiming to have God on their side since humans first started bashing each other on the head with rocks in fights over food and women. Your intrepretation of God’s will is no excuse to act abominable, fools. Grow up. Try and look forward for once. Your 12th century thought processes do not work and won’t fit into the 21st century. I won’t tolerate them or you because you represent a direct threat to my existence.
Go read Sandmonkey’s latest rant. All of it.