Saturday, August 12, 2006

Will the Future be Filled with Terrorists?

With the recent terrorist plot to blow up the airplanes, Israel invading Lebanon, Iran being Iran, and the media insisting Iraq is on the brink of Civil War, it is difficult to think about the future. As I look over at my 17-month-old daughter, I wonder what it will look like for her. Right now, she is happy and easy to please; all I have to do to make her happy is pay attention to her and give her a belly-blast every once in a while. For her, life is good, but for the rest of us, we wonder what life will be like in 10 years.

If history is any indication, things will probably be okay. The world wars ended eventually and generations have moved on taking their old tensions with them. While it may seem the tensions between Western society and the Islamic Extremists is old news, the reality is the current problems have only really started to surface in the last 15 years or so. Unfortunately, Islam, in its strictest sense, is an unwavering religion that was not written to be able to handle modern society. While the rest of the world is shrinking and becoming more of a whole, Islamic societies are finding it increasingly difficult to compete with the pressure of the outside world creeping into their way of life.

This is not to say our way is better than Islam, but it is simply a statement of fact; the Muslims who strictly follow the teachings of Islam find the influence of the rest of the world a challenge to deal with and so they fight it. Of course, there are plenty of Muslims here in the US and the rest of the world who get along with the rest of society just fine, but its these other groups we need to be aware of, and education, for both sides, is the solution to the problem.

Granted this is easy for me to say, and it is important that we do not sit back and let them attack us without responding, but it is something we should all work to do. Pick up a book on religion and learn a little more about Islam. At the very least, you might understand why they are doing it, even if you believe they are wrong.
Fortunately, I am an optimist and believe things will work out in the long run. When I look at my beautiful daughter and wonder about miracle of life, I have to believe humanity will win out and things will get better.

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