10/15/2005: Monk protection

[Elspode]

The Muslim radical Right is trying to co-opt governments and societies everywhere, but their numbers are relatively small, so they are doing it through force and terror. The Christian radical Right is doing the same thing here in the US, but there's enough of them that they don't have to resort to blowing people up in their own country. Overseas, however, is another matter.

[mlandman]

re: radical Christian right: I assume your point is that US policy overseas re: the war in Iraq and 'blowing stuff up' is based on the radical Christian right, who wants to eliminate Islam in the name of Christianity, somehow indirectly has controlled our armed forces --- but I don't see it.

I do realize that I committed a faux-pas --- I took an IOTD and commented mostly on the political nature behind the image, as opposed to the image itself. I'm happy to move the political discussion off the IOTD thread.

I will take the time to make an observation re: the image.... anyone else notice the BULLSEYE painted on the armor on the bike? Is this a symbol with an alternate meaning..... or is this "if you're gonna shoot, please (subliminally?) shoot here at the plated armor instead of my body".

[Elspode]

Originally Posted by mlandman

re: radical Christian right: I assume your point is that US policy overseas re: the war in Iraq and 'blowing stuff up' is based on the radical Christian right, who wants to eliminate Islam in the name of Christianity, somehow indirectly has controlled our armed forces --- but I don't see it.

Let me just say that I'm pretty sure we wouldn't have been quite as quick to go around blowing up non-Muslims in today's sociopolitical environment. I don't think we're directly conducting a crusade, per se, but it is more than a little curious that the war was conducted and continued despite us having found out that the entire alleged reason for conducting it in the first place was a mistake.

I also find it curious that Bush panders so obviously to the Christian Right, alludes to his actions being guided by God (Jehovah, to be precise...not some other deity, but The One True Deity (tm) ). He is a self-proclaimed observant Christian, a religion whose main purpose is to essentially sort out everyone on Earth by making sure they are aware of the Great 50/50 Choice, (they like to refer to it as "Free Will"), wherein the masses of the unwashed and unrepentant can avail themselves of Jesus' mercy by accepting him as their Saviour, or burn in eternal anguish...and they're more than happy to achieve this evangelistic imperative through whatever means necessary.

I'm thinking that there is a large number of people here in the good old USofA who would be real cool with a Christian theocracy, and that is real scary. I think some of the vanguard of that fetid governmental philosophy are already in power, so if there's an element of "who cares if they're dead, they're only a bunch of Muslims" to our foreign interventions of late, it is probably par for the course.

[TheMercenary]

Originally Posted by Elspode

The Muslim radical Right is trying to co-opt governments and societies everywhere, but their numbers are relatively small, so they are doing it through force and terror. The Christian radical Right is doing the same thing here in the US, but there's enough of them that they don't have to resort to blowing people up in their own country. Overseas, however, is another matter.

Weak comparison. There are many more Muslims than Christians overseas. Christians haven't been blowing things up and killing in the name of religon for a long time.