We all live within frameworks by which we embrace our own private realities. Those realities must interface with the real world, and often contradictions surface. Our job, if we are sentient and rational, is to resolve the contradictions in such a way that reality and framework are in continued harmony.
Example: As a six year-old child, I believed that Jesus was real, and that he watched over me. I believed in Holy Communion. At that time we had to fast before taking communion, so I was not allowed to eat food for three hours before. On Christmas Eve, 1956, I was in the balcony of our church sitting through long ceremonies, and had a terrible stomachache. But I firmly believed that once I took communion, Jesus would relieve the pain.
That moment finally came, and I made my way back to my seat after waiting for the pain to go away. It did not.
What to do? What any good Catholic would do – stuff doubt, make it go away. But it never really did.
I’ve read many blogs and comments and many articles now surrounding the most recent events in various Arab and Muslim countries, and the overriding American framework is easily apparent:
We are rational, they are not.
I mean, look at them! They are attacking us because of a silly film! They are really fanatic about their religion.
A more logical explanation is that they are really angry at our government and our military, and that it does not take much to set off that anger. And assuming that they, like us, are rational, there must be some reasonable basis for the anger.
Of course, we have our religion, and we can be equally irrational when others insult our religious symbol, The Flag. When others burn it, we go ballistic.
If Americans viewing recent events assume that the players are rational, resolution of the resulting discomfort might produce useful insight.
Piece of Mindful 
Jimmy Carter 2.0
And that False Flag UTube. See below.
http://www.muslimnews.co.uk/news/news.php?article=23366
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As usual the Kraut nails it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wwzwvsmkGac&feature=player_embedded
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Off topic warning Mark.
Look what blogging did to newspapers.
http://www.businessinsider.com/newspaper-advertising-collapse-2012-9?utm_source=twbutton&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=media
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What to do? What any good Catholic would do – stuff doubt, make it go away.
Good adherents believe even more. Failure of the orthodoxy to deliver just means we have to redouble our efforts.
For example, the religion of modern Liberalism, with its belief in equality and diversity. If current public policies lead to even more inequality, and no one really wants the prescribed diversity, that just means we need more of it: more wealth transfers, more quotas, more affirmative action, more punishment for those with the wrong thoughts. No need to doubt the premise, that maybe biology has something to do with it. That thought must be suppressed.
We are rational, they are not.
This is pretty much your battle cry here: “I am rational, you are not. I see more than you. Until you get your mind right and see things like I do, you will be mocked and belittled.”
And assuming that they, like us, are rational, there must be some reasonable basis for the anger.
You carry an assumption that if we behave properly, then everyone will love us. So you fall all over yourself with self criticism and behavior that signals you are ecumenical uber alles, and generally give your heritage away to buy the goodwill of strangers.
But the battle over ideology and resources started long ago. At some point you have to build a wall or fight a battle, or you cease to exist.
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Your black/white nature clouds your ability to absorb what is apparent to some of us. There is an entire mode of existence that I would describe as “normal” which you have reduced to “quotas, wealth transfers and affirmative action,” public policies (when described in less inflammatory terms) that merely embrace each other’s humanity. Each of these policies, controversial though they are, have positive outcomes that far outweigh any inconvenience they might create, but you are too resentful to embrace that notion.
And then your jumping to extremes – “…then everyone will love us” – avoids the issue in total – why can’t we leave people alone? These things that are mysteriously “happening to us” are going on in their back yard. We have invaded and bombed them, and that makes people angry and creates blowback. The underlying dynamics are not hard to grasp. It is exactly how we would behave we’re the tables turned, you know, Red Dawn stuff.
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Its a shame they had to go and make a new red dawn because im sure it will be awful. But just because we are over there doing the things we are doing does not automatically turn the tables and mean ‘they’ in fact are all rational, act justifiably and have a reasonable basis for their anger, victimhood and conspiracy theories. Theo Van Gogh was murdered in his own backyard not in Libya or Yemen. True he was just one guy in europe and who is to say how it would have turned out for him if the last 30 years of middle east history were different from the standpoint of the activities of the US/EU/israel. Would the muslim population be ‘more forgiving’ of insults to Allah? I dont know but I doubt it. Maybe less radicalized. But the battle over resources takes precedence as fred says. It is not black/white you are correct, you both are right to a certain extent (and wrong). Only jack ruby is right all the time.
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I like that. But you presume I engage in back/white thinking by saying
I neither said nor meant to imply such a thing. But keep things in their proper scale – we have killed hundreds of thousands of them. They have reason to be somewhat chagrined.
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I might add here that you, as a regular reader, should know that I have far less regard for “liberals” than conservatives, though there are very few of the latter around, the name having been co-opted by reactionary extremists. As Mort Sahl said, the bricks on the road to fascism are put in place by liberals.
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There is an entire mode of existence that I would describe as “normal” …embrace each other’s humanity.
The problem here is in defining “normal” and “humanity”. Hubert Humphrey famously said that affirmative action programs wouldn’t last more than 20 years, but the things grow and expand until last year the EEOC had a record number of filings. No program ends, the things just march on. Now we’re implementing tier 4 pollution controls on diesel engines at great expense for little gain. Horse slaughter is banned, for a result of greater animal suffering.
why can’t we leave people alone?
Amen. But we’ve taken it upon ourselves to enforce trade rules, keep shipping lanes open, and help out in humanitarian ways; and, like above, these metastasize into kicking in doors in Fallujah.
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There is a happy ending to your flag burning protest picture.
http://times247.com/articles/militant-dies-from-fumes-of-burning-american-flags
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Man, you just go ballistic when someone desecrates your religious symbol!
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