Whether you call it the "Quran" or "Koran" doesnt matter, news bulletins of the upcoming bookburning of this Holy book by apparent psychopath Dr. Terry Jones of Florida have been permeating both our computer and television screens for the last several days or so. I for one am Vehemently Against this mentally deranged action. True, it's a known fact that I stand up adamantly against the organized religions of the world because I do not believe in their sadistic hypocrisies of using any Holy Scriptures to justify bigotry, hatred and oppression against one's fellow humanhind; however, by the same token, I do respect people's basic human rights to worship in any religious and/or spiritual manner that they personally choose. Like I've always said, if going to church or temple every week does something good for you, such as renewing your spiritual faith on a regular basis, more power to you; but, I'm simply one of those folks who doesnt believe that the only way you can attain spiritual salvation is by going to church every Sunday and throwing a few bucks in the collection plate. Personally, I believe it's how you treat others and yourself that determines who gets to, or doesnt get to, board that giant liner in the sky that is headed for its final destination port of Heaven. However, my religious beliefs aren't the issue here - attempting to stomp out the spread of pure hatred is the issue that needs to be addressed..
This Terry Jones is just as crazy and maniacal as that nasty thug Fred Phelps of the Westboro Baptist Church of Topeka, Kansas. Jones may not get around as much or may not have the international travel itenerary that Phelps has, but that doesn't matter because the geographical location of unmonitored hatred in this world is everywhere, definitely not just in Florida and Kansas. I wanna tell you something about the concept of Hatred. There is one thing it unrefutedly has in common with things such as cancer, and yes, even the Hiv virus - like those two things, if Hatred is allowed to grow unchecked and unmonitored it will metastasize and spread to the point of endless bounds. Like with any disease, if you do not attempt to treat it, it will get way way out of hand and infiltrate and destroy everything within a million or so miles of its core. How so? Easy, just look back in history.
This entire issue reminds me exactly of what happened back in Germany in 1933. People were so goddamn shocked that Hitler and his Nazi thugs could so anything as barbaric and deplorable as burning books of some of the greatest literary minds of the world, yet it happened. Most of those people back then thought that surely things couldnt get any worse, but it was those who had the instinctual premonitions that it was just the beginning of much worse things to come that were the wise ones. And we all know what happened to those who maintained their airs of disbelief and stood closeby to the arms of denial. The very same forces that laid way for the Holocuast in which way over 6 and a half million Jews were murdered, as well as countless thousands of Homosexuals, Gypsies, Witches, Communists and people from other groups, are alive and well in Gainesville, Florida. They cannot remain unmonitored.
First Amendment rights my ass. America is not perfect by any means, there isn't a nation on this planet that is, but when evil things such as hatred and bookburning are protected by constitutional law, then it makes this "Land of the Free" synonymous with "Homeland of Hypocrisy." So many people say that our country is the "Land of Freedom and Democracy" which I've always believed to be true, even with its imperfections and contraditons galore, I've always believed that the good of America has always had a fightiing chance, regardless of the situation. However, be that as it may, I do not think the veterans of every single war this country has ever been involved in, nor all our fighting men and women currently in the MiddleEast, would commit to laying down their lives for something as heinous and ludicrous as what Jones is intending to do. Some radical extremists continue to state that all those in our armed forces are fighting for all freedoms, but the freedom to hate and oppress others? I dont think so. What some people - actually, no, that is too good of a classification for Jones and Phelps and their kind - what some fake humans believe is that burning books of other religious groups is going to make a stance, make a change for the better in the current war our country is involved in; but, the reality of it all is that it's not gonna make things any better, the only statement it's going to make to the rest of the world is that America openly sanctions barabarism, the very thing I might add that it fought to destroy in the most recent World War. Bottom line - there are enough bad things in this world as it is, we simply don't need anymore heaped onto our nation's currently overflowing platter.
For those who believe that "if we ignore it, it will just go away" they are very mistaken. Off the many, many lessons we can learn from what ending up being World War II, as well as what happened on September 11th, 2001, the following fact is something that needs to be taught now and to every generation after this one - complaceny is NEVER a solution to any problem. The age-old gem of wisdom that if we ignore history, we will allow it to repeat itself is so very true, especially in regards to this current bookburning business. Over the years, so many adults have stated, so many children have asked "Why do we have to study History and/or Social Studies? They're so boring!" If we as human beings ever stop requiring our current and future generations from learning this-or-that historical fact and/or date, that's one thing - but, I hope that we never stop reminding them of the human lessons of history because if we do, those evil things that took place in the world from the 1930's right up until 1945, as well as on 9/11 - and even beyond in some cases - will most certainly be allowed to resurface all over again. We, as members of the international community of the Human Race cannot allow that to happen. When I look at this world and the current state its in I always remind myself of this - we may be standing on yet another brink of total chaos but something will happen, something will change, something will pull us back within a couple inches of that foreboding precipice called Disaster. I think it's true - but with one exception. We prevent ourselves from falling off that cliff, from crossing over the boundary that seperates us humans from those who are non-human (yes, such as Jones) by fostering hope and faith, not disillusion and contempt. Yeah, it's really that simple.
When Jack use to meet with clients in other locales, and if I had the day off, I use to go with him on those business trips. I would drop him off wherever he had an appointment and then go explore the immediate locale of the area, and just hang out and relax. On one such trip back in 1986 or '87, he had to meet with a client in the Walnut Creek, CA area and while he was at his meeting, I decided to park the car and take a walk around. In one of the store parking lots I was walking through, I happened to meet this elderly Rumanian Gypsy lady who was selling flowers outta the back of her van. She greeted me and asked if I wanted to buy any and I told her not today but then she asked me if I wouldnt at least join her in a glass of lemonade. On that particular summer day, the sweat was running down the crack of my ass faster than Niagara Falls (yeah, it was that hot out!) so I thought to myself "Sure, why not Sister?" So while we were sipping our lemonade and chatting, she asked me what I believed in, religiously, spiritually and I told her and we talked about the concept of God, Heaven-n-Earth, Doomsday, ya know, all those top of the New York Times Bestseller's list topics.
Towards the end of our conversation, I asked her a couple of questions that surfaced in my mind. By the way, I love talking with the older generations, we can learn so much about life from them. Anyways, I asked her what she thought what the end of the world would be like and what would happen to such books as the Bible, the Torah, etc. etc. and I found her responses truly fascinating, because I was curious to the similarities, if any, and the differences between the non-Gypsy and Gypsy frames of mind. Her responses still fascinate me to this day. In regards to the former question - "...when that day comes, everything that was ever created will stand up and show its true face here on earth - the church people, the regular folk, and all the myths and legends we were told of as children will come to life, for in every fairy-tale there is some truth, and those things will be just as visible on that day as you and I are this very moment. It wont be just the final war between good and evil, after, it will be a reunion of all those things we never understood throughout our lives." Her answer bowled me over, you woulda never thought by her meek, humble gestures that she was such a deep individual.
Her answer to the latter question was equally admirable, at least I thought so. When I asked her what happens to those books in those final hours she simply said this - "...folks think the many scriptures out there are like passports to Heaven, that they will get them in but they won't. Tis faith, what is in their hearts and souls, thats what the great Creator will be looking for, not whether they can follow some silly guidebook." I laughed at her answer but yet respected it too because to this day, I think she was right. It's okay to hold those religious teachings that we believe in, that are in written form, as close to our bodies as we so choose; but, it's even more important to keep what is taught via those written words even closer in heart, as well as in practice.
What may be taking place in Florida in the next couple of days is something that I cannot personally stop, I dont know if anyone can, especially due to the laws of this country. But one thing I do know is this - it's wrong, it's wrong in every sense of the word that anyone would be that evil, that diabolical in promoting hatred and destroying other peoples spiritual doctrines, as well as a blasphemy towards the remembrance of all those who lost their lives on 9/11. If Jones does indeed go through with it, this country may protect his right to do what he pleases, but we as human beings also have the right to demand that he is disenfranchised from the rest of the human race. Because let's face it, when anyone allows themselves to become sucha staunch instrument of hate, they lose their humanity and when that happens, they also lose the right to even be called human. Thank you for reading.
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