Jim Taylor's Columns - 'Soft Edges' and 'Sharp Edges'

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Published on Monday, August 28, 2017

ISIS and white supremacists share links

Let’s give Donald Trump some credit for consistency – he has never, at any time, said that there are “some fine people” among Islamic terrorists.

            He’s probably right that there are “some fine people” among the white-supremacist neo-Nazi racist alt-right Confederacy-clinging thugs who rioted and murdered in Charlottesville. If you use the right criteria to evaluate them, that is. They drink beer with their buddies. They love cars and pickup trucks. They go to church and to ball games. They may even tithe. They loan their lawn mowers to neighbours.

            What’s not to like?

            Trump probably considers himself to be a good father, a good neighbour, a nice guy -- when he’s not playing president.

            Little wonder he found it hard to condemn people like himself.

 

Internal threat

            I see remarkable similarities between the two extreme groups – Islamic terrorists and white supremacists. They seem to be copying each other, regardless of their religious or political affiliations. Building bombs. Using assault rifles. Using cars and trucks as weapons. Killing as many “enemies” as possible, before being killed oneself.

            I have argued for years that the major terrorist threat to U.S. security does not come from outside the country, but from its own rebels. After having spent half a century trying to root out dangerous communists such as Pete Seeger and Paul Robeson, even the FBI has finally acknowledged that home-grown terrorists pose a greater threat to the security of American citizens than foreign ones.

            Last May, the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security warned that white supremacist groups had carried out more attacks than any other extremist group over the past 16 years.

            A Congressional report agreed: “Of 85 violent extremist incidents that resulted in death since September 12, 2001, far-right wing violent extremist groups were responsible for 62 (73 per cent) while radical Islamist violent extremists were responsible for 23 (27 per cent).”

            That’s a margin of almost three to one.

 

Common characteristics

            And how do they differ? Less than you think. Consider some characteristic practices of ISIS, al Queda, and Boko Haram:

·      They are male dominated. Women exist mainly for pleasure or procreation.

·      Impressionable boys are indoctrinated in madrasas, male-only schools that teach a fundamentalist perspective on life and religion.

·      Their members take a text, the Qur’an, as absolutely authoritative. They memorize verses that demand unthinking obedience and that urge the faithful to destroy unbelievers.

·      They demand unquestioning loyalty. Deviation is treason.

·      Some mosques and imams preach fiery sermons that promote hatred of other religions, other cultures, other civilizations – only their own way of life is worthy.

·      They do not represent either the mainstream or the liberal elements of Islam.

·      They maintain solidarity among their members through media networks.

 

Now compare that list to the practices of the “alt-right”:

·      They are male dominated. Women can’t be trusted to make decisions about their own bodies – especially about abortion.

·      Impressionable children are indoctrinated in segregated Sunday school classes and taught a fundamentalist perspective on life and religion.

·      Their members take a text, the Bible, as absolutely authoritative. They memorize verses that demand unthinking obedience, and that justify violence against unbelievers. (Texas megachurch pastor Robert Jeffress endorsed Trump’s threats of nuclear war against North Korea, stating that “God has given Trump the moral authority to take out Kim Jong-Un.” When challenged, he quoted Romans13:4, “Authority does not bear the sword in vain; it is the servant of God to execute wrath on the wrongdoer.”)

·      Some churches and pastors preach fiery sermons that promote hatred and distrust of other religions, other cultures, other civilizations – only the American way of life is worthy.

·      They demand unquestioning loyalty. Deviation is treason.

·      They do not represent either the mainstream or the progressive elements of Christianity.

·      They maintain solidarity among their members through media networks.

 

 

Wrong criteria

These two lists say to me that we have used the wrong criteria for assessing threats to our social fabric. We have looked at WHO the members are, rather than WHAT they stand for.

            WHO means that they are superficially like us. Therefore, they can’t be the enemy.

            Instead, I argue, we should be looking at what people stand for. What are their values? Where do they get those values? How do they act out those values in their lives?

            Yes, there were two “sides” in Charlottesville. But I didn’t hear of any anti-racists driving vehicles into crowds of pedestrians. Or of civil liberty advocates demanding the deportation of people who had different skin colour, religion, or sexual orientation.

            The other “side” stood for something different. And their actions – mostly – showed it.

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Copyright © 2017 by Jim Taylor. Non-profit use in congregations and study groups encouraged; links from other blogs welcomed; all other rights reserved.

            To send comments, to subscribe, or to unsubscribe, write jimt@quixotic.ca

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YOUR TURN

 

Last week’s column about solar eclipses, former and current, wasn’t particularly challenging. But it got a fair number of responses anyway.

 

Eduard Hiebert sent a link (https://www.timeanddate.com/eclipse/in/usa/salem) that shows the tracks and dates of all solar eclipses visible in North America. It’s too late for last week’s eclipse, of course, but still interesting to see.

 

Tom Watson drew my attention to a column by satirist Andy Borovitz of the New Yorker. Like Jean Hamilton, Borowitz found a way of blaming the solar eclipse on Donald Trump. In one memorable line, Borowitz wrote: “Donald J. Trump said on Saturday that the sun was equally to blame for blocking the moon. “The fake news is covering the eclipse from the sun’s side instead of the moon’s side, but if you look at it from the moon’s side the sun is blocking the moon’s side,” he said. “There are so many sides you can’t count all the sides.”

 

Another satirist (forwarded by George Brigham in England) penned the following: “Dear God, if you want us Americans to impeach Trump, give us a sign. Like, blot out the sun or something. Amen.”

 

Isabel Gibson told me there had been a total eclipse of the sun “visible in Winnipeg in 1979.  I remember because my then-husband took our then-7-year-old there on the train.” (I checked it on Eduard Hiebert’s solar map.)

            Isabel continued, “Alas, even our partial eclipse [in Ottawa] was a bust.  The skies have been obscured by cloud all day, and it even rained for a while. 2024, here I come . . .”

 

Ken DeLisle also remembered the Winnipeg eclipse of 1979: “It was my first (and only) experience of an amazing event. I worked for the city and all of us walked outside, as did so many others. It was a true community experience.”

 

Barbara Beatty had better luck than Isabel: “We happened to plan a trip to visit relatives in Portland OR.  Of course we stayed, traveled south to an ‘eclipse party’ at the home of a friend.  No black flies, but a wind came up as the air cooled and then died instantly; we saw the totality, and saw the stars.  I am a tad sunburned from watching the whole time.  It was amazing to witness, but more importantly we have new friends, and full hearts from the time we spent with other beings on this planet.  I feel very rich and settled tonight.”

 

This wasn’t a letter, but Seth Godin’s blog noted that the market for used eclipse sunglasses has vanished. The same, he suggested, might apply to other things we have invested in. Once it’s gone, there’s no value in hanging on to it.

 

Larry Smith continued the discussion of addictions: “One of the impacts that family and friends don’t recognize when a loved one attempts to stop drinking is that they have to change friends! As a youngster, I witnessed my mother go through cycles of wet and dry. It was inevitably an outing with ‘the girls’ that started the next episode.”

 

Clare Neufeld, whom I hadn’t heard from for some time, also criticized the AA process: “There is an appearance of success, but, when historical data is correctly interpreted and applied, I find myself (too often, these days), befuddled by how easily, many of our generation bought into the ‘hoped for’ narrative, and helped encourage vulnerable people, (too readily/quickly), to enter these programs.

            “My father, a self-confessed ‘alcoholic for life’, (dry since 1960), died in 1995.

            “More than once, he confided in me that he had ‘taken on’ his addiction, after my mother confronted him at the door of our tiny home, and pointed at our bare feet, in winter, on a floor which had no heat beneath it, and wondered (angrily) why he could ‘afford’ to squander half his wages on payday drunkenness with his buddies, sometimes nearly get killed in the process, and yet insist they could not afford to clothe his own children?

            “That day, he claimed, he decided, that ‘with God's help, and my stubborn will, I was going to stop this habit I had chosen to engage.’

            “I asked him whether he had ever joined AA.

            “He said, ‘No! I wasn't about to exchange one dependency for another. I got myself into it. I would, with God's help, get myself out of it!

            "’But never make the mistake of thinking that your dad has beaten alcoholism. I remain an alcoholic for the rest of my days. I don't drink anymore. I remain vulnerable (my word, in exchange for his more crude vernacular) to this monkey on my back. I have to remain vigilant every single day.’”

 

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TECHNICAL STUFF

 

If you want to comment on something, write me at jimt@quixotic.ca. Or just hit the “Reply” button.

            To subscribe or unsubscribe, send me an e-mail message at the address above. Or subscribe electronically by sending a blank e-mail (no message) to sharpedges-subscribe@lists.quixotic.ca. Similarly, you can un-subscribe at sharpedges-unsubscribe@lists.quixotic.ca.

            My webpage is up and running again -- thanks to Wayne Irwin and ChurchWeb Canada. You can now access current columns and five years of archives at http://quixotic.ca

            I write a second column each Wednesday, called Soft Edges, which deals somewhat more gently with issues of life and faith. To sign up for Soft Edges, write to me directly at the address above, or send a blank e-mail to softedges-subscribe@lists.quixotic.ca

 

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PROMOTION STUFF…

            Ralph Milton ’s latest project is called “Sing Hallelujah” -- the world’s first video hymnal. It consists of 100 popular hymns, both new and old, on five DVDs that can be played using a standard DVD player and TV screen, for use in congregations who lack skilled musicians to play piano or organ. More details at www.singhallelujah.ca

            Ralph’s HymnSight webpage is still up, http://www.hymnsight.ca, with a vast gallery of photos you can use to enhance the appearance of the visual images you project for liturgical use (prayers, responses, hymn verses, etc.)

            Wayne Irwin's “Churchweb Canada,” an inexpensive service for any congregation wanting to develop a web presence, with free consultation. <http://www.churchwebcanada.ca>

            I recommend Isabel Gibson’s thoughtful and well-written blog, www.traditionaliconoclast.com

            Alva Wood’s satiric stories about incompetent bureaucrats and prejudiced attitudes in a small town -- not particularly religious, but fun; alvawood@gmail.com to get onto her mailing list.

            Tom Watson writes a weekly blog called “The View from Grandpa Tom’s Balcony” -- ruminations on various subjects, and feedback from Tom’s readers. Write him at tomwatso@gmail.com or twatson@sentex.net

 

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