Rustico/PerryChase: I am not ideologue. Far from it. I did not vote for Bush in either election (nor did I vote for either Gore or Kerry). I am Catholic by birth, baptism and education, but Jesuit Catholic. While conservative politically, I think the Republican party has lost its way, especially as regards its core principles. The Democrats, on the other side of the aisle have ideologically sold out to a morally bankrupt and morally infantile left wing element that had its heyday during the Vietnam War.
I do not condone the various depredations visited on the world by Western powers, nor do I conclude that we are completely responsible for the state of the world as well.
If I were to pick an ancient (Greek or Roman) model for the US, I would choose Athens right befoe and during the Pelopponesian War. A power that had grown decadent, arrogant and incorrect in its stance about its neighbors and its place in the world.
I also do not have a chauvinistic view of Islam. Rather, my views on Islam are solely a product of reading up on history. When you cite the example of the Crusades, do you believe that this was an example of exploitation, or that there was genuine justification in the defense of Christendom? I believe that the Christians had as much claim (during that time) as the Jews and Moslems to Jerusalem. The fact is that Europeans were fighting as late as 1683 to eject Islam from Vienna. It is not a matter of “interpretation” either. People cite the “peaceful” examples of the Qu’ran and say that we (Christians and Jews) have been co-existing peacefully. Sadly, this is untrue. True Islams demands complete subjugation to the will of Allah as either a convert or a controlled unbeliever (subject to taxes, punishments, etc) or death.
If Islam was not a religion spread by the sword, how did Islam wind up in Spain, the Balkans and Central/Eastern Europe? And, if it was a religion that peacefully coexisted with its Christian and Jewish, why did Europe resist so strongly (i.e. the Spanish Reconquista) against it for so many years?
I do respect your opinion as regards your own worldview. It is yours after all. However, history (true history composed only of facts and figures and not revisionism) is history. And, while certainly no fan of Israel, it is the only country in the region that is a democracy and supports the rule of law.
