As I watch the rioting in the Middle East…
what eye thynk: …I try to tell myself that these people live in a world where they are told what to believe and how to think, where all opinions come from and are disseminated by their government and religious leaders with the expectation that they will be accepted as the only truth.
I try to tell myself that these people are uneducated; that they have no reference point for understanding our democratic concept of an individual’s right of free speech. They cannot know that, in our country, opposing sides of any issue are openly expressed and discussed, that our people are encouraged to voice their opinions--even on issues of government and religion--even in opposition to issues championed by government or religions.
The concept of “non-group think”, that any idea could be created by a single individual and distributed without the knowledge and support of a government or religious assembly is as foreign to them as the ability to breath mud would be to us.
I try to make myself understand, but I keep coming back to this thought:
no civilized society encourages its citizens to voice their discontent by destroying buildings, burning cars or throwing rocks--and no God I know advocates murder in His name.
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