Ignorance is present

This country is going down a very scary road. In many Americans it is clear that a fear of Islam is taking over. That fear has already turned to hatred by most on the far right. What I don't seem to understand is, why?
Don't people realize that Islam is a peaceful religion? Don't they realize that the two sects are as close in theology as Catholics and Protestants? Haven't they figured out that there are only a small percentage approved of what happened on 9/11? Obviously not.
First things first. Everyone needs to realize that the term Muslim or Islam does not mean that everyone agrees on everything. 90% of Muslims are Sunni, while Osama bin Laden claims to be Shia. So blaming 9/11 on all Muslims would be like blaming child molestation are the Spanish Inquisition on all Christians. Second, it seems that the way Muslims are portrayed by some is similar to the way Jews were portrayed in Europe around the 17th and 18 century. They were blamed for peoples problems, they were considered to be "bad guys", and they were looked at as second class citizens.
I have been so ashamed by what people in our country have been saying about Islam and its people that it just makes me sick. The "mosque near ground zero" is nothing more than a bitch fit that the Republicans wanted to start up before the elections. Calling it a mosque would be like calling St.Vincents hospital a church. Also, the burning of the Korans is a unbelievably disgusting act. Those people are only going to anger two kinds of people, Muslims and anybody who is rational. Bigotry of any kind should be silenced immediately, there is no reason for the media to allow such crap to be seen by people.

Are the Trinity and the Hebrew God the same?

Dr. Jacobs presented a very interesting question to our class this morning. He expressed that Jews and Christians do not have the same God. His explanation for this claim was that, in Christianity Jesus and God and the Holy Spirit are all God, while in Judaism there is only God. So the question he asked was this, "If the Christian God has to have all three parts, and the Hebrew God does not involve Jesus or the Spirit is it the same God?" This question completely took me by surprise, because, as growing up in a liberal church setting, the idea that Jews and Christians shared a God had been totally ingrained in my way of thought. I have put a lot of thought on this theory and have yet to decide what my position is. Hopefully I come back to this subject and do some research on what others have to say.

REALLY?

I saw this billboard today as I was returning to Tuscaloosa. It was on highway 69, just before downtown. I was speechless. I could not believe how quickly people had forgotten about all of the terrible things that the man had done to our country and other parts of the world. He lied about WMDs to convince the American people that war was necessary, he ruined many school systems with the "No Child Left Behind Act", he unconstitutionally allowed the NSA to spy on any and every American, and successfully ruined the nation's economy.

The hate that has been growing for Obama is utterly abhorrent. This rhetoric that the extreme right is using is worse than any ever used by the U.S. This man who, while not perfectly, wants to bring aid to the poor by as moderate means as possible, end a war that has taken more money and lives than anything Osama Bin Laden could accomplish, and still lower the taxes for all but the top percent, has done nothing to deserve the hostility he is getting. People honestly believe that he is the most evil man in the history of the world. According to a Harris Poll 24% of Republicans believe he is the AntiChrist, while 40% believe he is using the same techniques as Hitler, and 60% believe that he is a socialist! What is wrong with America? Lack of understanding. People just believe the first thing that FOX (not)News tells them about a person. It is truly a tragedy that so many have forgotten what Bush did, and it is even worse that people believe that Obama has done enough to be a worse president.

My answer to the billboard is NO, I don't miss you. And to be honest I don't think that I will be able to support any more republicans for a long time. Their credibility is dwindling fast, and the worst part is that it will probably ruin our country's credibility in the process.

Our fascination with Nietzsche

Last week I was talking to an older friend who lived in Germany his whole life up until the past few years about America's fascination with Frederich Nietzsche. He was thoroughly surprised at how much emphasis was put on this man who was not even one of the most famous or influential thinkers of his time period or region. It is true that at the beginning of his career he had some brilliant views on the church and society, but as he aged his hatred of the church and belief in the superman led him to be somewhat of a crazed man and quite loony. The only reason that I could give to my friend Thomas was that his rhetoric on the church can be related to American churches. Thomas insisted that most of Nietzsche's thoughts on the subject were no greater than any other man during his time period, so why the great respect toward the man? It was a question I have been dealing with for some time now and my conclusion was the fact that he gave atheists a title or motto, "God is Dead." This phrase can be seen in The Gay Science which was one of his first books.

Americans, especially Southerners, seem to have a love of generalizations and titles. If there is a quote that relates to a subject it will most likely be used. These title give us a belief that we understand a subject more because we can relate another idea to it. That is why Nietzsche is looked at so highly in modern atheist circles, because he gave people a motto that makes them think they understand. Little do they know that all they are truly doing is attempting to assert themselves as the ubermensch, by pretending to have a greater understanding than so many others they are attempting to put themselves as superior. Nietzsche was an elitist, and the more I speak to more "free thinkers" around town I realize that they are quite the same. All of the ones I have talked to generalize more than the Christians who they criticize. By putting such a main focus on a man who went insane before his forties takes away from so many other people that were similarly attacking the church. Freud, Beneke, Engels, Marx, Goethe, Hegel, Heidegger, Kant, Wittgenstein, and many others get so much less attention than Nietzsche. It is a sad truth that so much is being left unstudied while a self proclaimed "madman" is considered this great influential thinker.

How rambling leads to Gender Issues

So this is my first post on my Journal. Of course I am writing when I should be either asleep or doing homework, but for some reason I just can't seem to make myself turn off the computer and lay down. I am doing my usual thing of playing on youtube, and I am listening to MLK's "I Have A Dream Speech". He is just getting to the most memorable moments, and it has me thinking of how far we have actually come. I like to agree with most people who see such progress over the last forty years, but for some reason all that I can focus on are the horrible stereotypes that I see everyday, and the pure love of the Confederacy that exists on this campus. "Free at last" he just said, those words molded an entire generation. Are they really? Sure I suppose so, but there is so much hate and bigotry in this horrible country that is increasing. Women and Blacks and Hispanics are being treated as second rate citizens by the frightened white culture that doesn't know what they are going to do to stop the "insurgants" of their culture. They are scared that the America that they know is going to be destroyed by these invading cultures: the latinamerican and ghetto scene are seen as similar evils in the wihte man's eye, but it is clear that the feminist movement is what many are the most terrified of. Anytime a woman gets any power she scolded as being a bitch, or stupid, or petty by the opposing view point. This can be seen with Hillary Clinton, Nancy Pelosi, and Sarah Palin. All three of these women represent a form of progress for an egalitarian society (although Palin's political views counteract the progress that her status should claim). I believe whole heartedly that while America has had a history of clashes over race, Gender is the next big hurdle that must be overcome. Not only Male and Female, because that is the main problem with our current gender construction. The dichotomy of Male and Female is such an enormous problem that must be fixed before any progress can be made. No matter what it is that Americans have, there will always need to be sweeping generalizations and vague titles given to topics that cannot be truly explained by the topic at hand, but to solve the Gender problem in America I believe that there should be no less than 5 Genders instated. Common Male, Femine Male, Common Female, Masculine Female, and then a neutral for both physical sexes. These genders would not effect sexual orientation, and would in theory have better terms, and while this does not solve the problem of Gender animosity, it could certainly help.