In the crazy realm of politics, there's an expression that is quite appropriate: say a lie long enough and it'll become truth. Unfortunately, in today's upside-down world, there's no shortage of these absurd myths that not only bombard our senses daily in the media, but have dangerously replaced the rare commodity known as common sense.
Let's examine some of the top reality distortions thrown in our faces.
First, the use of the labels "militant" and "insurgents". Let's call a spade a spade, here. People who deliberately blow up innocent civilians - including women and children, as they ride in trains, subways, or cars, or have the audacity to sit and relax in restaurants - are not fearsome, proud warriors on their way to paradise. They are misguided, brainwashed terrorists on their way to an extended vacation, in fact, in Gehenom. Period.
Second, the media keeps reminding us that the proper procedure for dealing with these poor, misunderstood, downtrodden souls of "militant Islam", is to negotiate, and realize that we in America, or England, or Spain, or Malaysia, or Africa, or Egypt, or Russia (or any of the hundreds of other places that have been attacked in just the past few years) have somehow caused this to happen. In other words, it's not their fault, it's ours. Somehow, our very lifestyle threatens their notion of God and spirituality, and thus, we have to change - not them.
But negotiations don't work with terrorists. To them it smells of weakness and signals victory for their policies of terror. Negotiations, deals, talks, land exchange - all mean empowerment for the terrorists. It means that their methods have reaped success, no matter what the politicians tell us.
Third, the notion that Israel is a democracy. It might be a country with a lot more freedoms than the 20-plus Arab countries surrounding it, but it is currently lacking in some important democratic principles. Any time the head honcho can simply fire the ministers that don't agree with him in order to pass policy, then this system of "checks & balances" - so integral to the US Constitution - has gone haywire. Israel currently has a system in place that, quite frankly, gives too much power to the prime minister. Ariel Sharon conveniently got rid of his "advisors" who were against the very controversial policy of "disengagement". In doing so, he has alienated an entire country, sowed seeds of division, and worse, has created a policy that is dangerous to the citizens he has been entrusted to protect.
Disengagement, in simple terms, means giving in to the still-hostile Arabs, who still call for Israel's destruction. They have not changed their charter. They haven't put Israel back on the map in their Palestinian schoolbooks. And Muslim mothers still sings songs of praise for the suicide bombers to their little tykes. The "disengagement" has been a ruthless policy shoved down the throats of the Israelis by an individual who more closely resembles King George III than George Washington. Government of the people, by the people and for the people? Unfortunately, it's another myth when it comes to Israel. Israel needs a quiet, political revolution that removes autocracy, the one-man show, from its governmental creed. Like the Beatles sang in their hit tune "Revolution": "If ya' go carrying pictures of Chairman Mao, ya' ain't gonna make it with anyone anyhow."
Fourth, the disengagement will make for a more secure Israel. This is utter nonsense. Any outsider can see this. In any deal, especially one as huge as this, it takes two to tango. One side gives this. The other side gives that. You wheel and deal, and bingo, you come to some sort of agreement. Israel has not received any concrete terms from the Arabs here - only hollow, empty proposals; "we'll try to stop the violence." The proof is in the pudding, as they say. Even as Israel prepares for this massive withdrawal, the so-called Palestinians have been busy lobbing mortars and bombs into Israel. Disengagement can only bring peace if the other side is dancing to the same tune. This policy only brings the terrorists that much closer to the heart of Israel. Who's Sharon fooling here?
Fifth, and possibly the clincher here, the myth of "land for peace". It's simply never worked throughout history. Any 6th-grade student knows that. It didn't work with the Nazis in Europe. It didn't work for the Native Americans. And it sure as heck hasn't worked for Israel, surrounded by a hundreds of millions of hostile Muslims, hell-bent on a very different agenda than peaceful coexistence. Their agenda is to spread Islam. Some advocate education and conversion. A sizeable portion advocate "any means necessary", including violence and terror. This means that any other lifestyle or non-Muslim country that has the audacity to live as it sees fit is an obstacle to their agenda, to their "holy" war.
Sixth, "militant Islam" cannot be defeated; therefore, we must try to negotiate. This is a little like the hungry crocodile scenario. You keep feeding it bits and pieces, talking nicely to it, buying time, as you back-peddle, eventually against the wall. You get eaten last, but the bottom line is that you still get eaten. Negotiations and deals with terrorists is nothing more than buying time. Furthermore, they can and must be defeated by military means. Just like the philosophy of Nazism was defeated. That war was not won by sitting down, making photo-ops, shaking hands and praying. It was won through much sacrifice and bloodshed, but as a result, this perverted philosophy that was so destructive to mankind was basically erased. And so, too, with this new, highly dangerous "religion" of militant Islam.
While the world each day is refining itself, growing, becoming more of a global village, these few fanatics would quickly send us back to the Dark Ages. Every effort must be made, and as quickly as possible, to wipe out these terrorists and the misguided philosophy they represent - before they get their hands on some serious firepower. A tiny nuclear device would make 9/11 look like kid's stuff; which brings us to the next point.
Seventh, Iran is planning on using nuclear power for only positive social functions, like providing clean electricity to its population. Huh? What planet do you live on? I mean, are we talking the Iran found on Jupiter or the one on Mother Earth? Forget the EU and UN negotiations and "strategies". They're known for fiddling while Rome burns.
Only one solution here, too, folks. Do what Israel did a few years back. Blow the nuclear facility off the dang map. Do we really want Iran to have nuclear weapons? Assuming that there's still some semblance of intelligence left - although, from the above, that might be a rather large assumption, nonetheless - enough idle talk. Time for action. I'm not saying get rid of Iran (although, hmmm... Okay, I'll behave), but that facility has simply got to go before, courtesy of the Iranians (who have all sorts of sleazy terrorist connections), there's nothing left of our planet.
Eighth: the so-called Palestinians own part, if not all, of Israel proper, and much (if not all) of Jerusalem. First of all, going back a mere 40 years, "Palestine" always referred to Israel and the Jews. In the 1950s and early '60s, people sang songs praising the early Jewish settlers of Palestine. Why were there no such creatures as "Palestinian Arabs" when the area was under British and Jordanian control? Why did they only come into existence once Israel started to prosper, and, more importantly, once Israel started winning all the wars it fought against Arab aggression? The answer is simple. Because everyone thought that Israel would, in fact, be wiped out by the much larger Arab armies, and thus, there would be no "Jewish/Israel Problem". But Israel won all the wars started by the Arabs.
To make matters worse for the Muslims, Israelis began truly building an amazing country, filled with growing, prosperous cities, beautiful forests and gardens. Suddenly, the land that barely gets a mention in the Koran, the city (Jerusalem) that was never honored by Muslims, became hot items. Hey, what could be better? Wait until others have done all the hard work, like building, plowing, cultivating, growing, etc., and then claim it as your own from the very beginning.
And so, a funny thing keeps surfacing in all these deals and negotiations with the so-called Palestinians - they're very good at taking, but not too reliable or responsive when it comes to giving. In fact, someone once described the Israel-Arab dialogue as a true give-and-take situation: Israel gives, the Arabs take.
We live in tough, challenging times that require steadfast, courageous leadership. The scourge of present-day terrorism can be stopped, but it needs to be met with the only language the terrorists themselves understand - military defeat. For our sakes, and for our children's sakes, we need to take our world back - before it's too late.
Let's examine some of the top reality distortions thrown in our faces.
First, the use of the labels "militant" and "insurgents". Let's call a spade a spade, here. People who deliberately blow up innocent civilians - including women and children, as they ride in trains, subways, or cars, or have the audacity to sit and relax in restaurants - are not fearsome, proud warriors on their way to paradise. They are misguided, brainwashed terrorists on their way to an extended vacation, in fact, in Gehenom. Period.
Second, the media keeps reminding us that the proper procedure for dealing with these poor, misunderstood, downtrodden souls of "militant Islam", is to negotiate, and realize that we in America, or England, or Spain, or Malaysia, or Africa, or Egypt, or Russia (or any of the hundreds of other places that have been attacked in just the past few years) have somehow caused this to happen. In other words, it's not their fault, it's ours. Somehow, our very lifestyle threatens their notion of God and spirituality, and thus, we have to change - not them.
But negotiations don't work with terrorists. To them it smells of weakness and signals victory for their policies of terror. Negotiations, deals, talks, land exchange - all mean empowerment for the terrorists. It means that their methods have reaped success, no matter what the politicians tell us.
Third, the notion that Israel is a democracy. It might be a country with a lot more freedoms than the 20-plus Arab countries surrounding it, but it is currently lacking in some important democratic principles. Any time the head honcho can simply fire the ministers that don't agree with him in order to pass policy, then this system of "checks & balances" - so integral to the US Constitution - has gone haywire. Israel currently has a system in place that, quite frankly, gives too much power to the prime minister. Ariel Sharon conveniently got rid of his "advisors" who were against the very controversial policy of "disengagement". In doing so, he has alienated an entire country, sowed seeds of division, and worse, has created a policy that is dangerous to the citizens he has been entrusted to protect.
Disengagement, in simple terms, means giving in to the still-hostile Arabs, who still call for Israel's destruction. They have not changed their charter. They haven't put Israel back on the map in their Palestinian schoolbooks. And Muslim mothers still sings songs of praise for the suicide bombers to their little tykes. The "disengagement" has been a ruthless policy shoved down the throats of the Israelis by an individual who more closely resembles King George III than George Washington. Government of the people, by the people and for the people? Unfortunately, it's another myth when it comes to Israel. Israel needs a quiet, political revolution that removes autocracy, the one-man show, from its governmental creed. Like the Beatles sang in their hit tune "Revolution": "If ya' go carrying pictures of Chairman Mao, ya' ain't gonna make it with anyone anyhow."
Fourth, the disengagement will make for a more secure Israel. This is utter nonsense. Any outsider can see this. In any deal, especially one as huge as this, it takes two to tango. One side gives this. The other side gives that. You wheel and deal, and bingo, you come to some sort of agreement. Israel has not received any concrete terms from the Arabs here - only hollow, empty proposals; "we'll try to stop the violence." The proof is in the pudding, as they say. Even as Israel prepares for this massive withdrawal, the so-called Palestinians have been busy lobbing mortars and bombs into Israel. Disengagement can only bring peace if the other side is dancing to the same tune. This policy only brings the terrorists that much closer to the heart of Israel. Who's Sharon fooling here?
Fifth, and possibly the clincher here, the myth of "land for peace". It's simply never worked throughout history. Any 6th-grade student knows that. It didn't work with the Nazis in Europe. It didn't work for the Native Americans. And it sure as heck hasn't worked for Israel, surrounded by a hundreds of millions of hostile Muslims, hell-bent on a very different agenda than peaceful coexistence. Their agenda is to spread Islam. Some advocate education and conversion. A sizeable portion advocate "any means necessary", including violence and terror. This means that any other lifestyle or non-Muslim country that has the audacity to live as it sees fit is an obstacle to their agenda, to their "holy" war.
Sixth, "militant Islam" cannot be defeated; therefore, we must try to negotiate. This is a little like the hungry crocodile scenario. You keep feeding it bits and pieces, talking nicely to it, buying time, as you back-peddle, eventually against the wall. You get eaten last, but the bottom line is that you still get eaten. Negotiations and deals with terrorists is nothing more than buying time. Furthermore, they can and must be defeated by military means. Just like the philosophy of Nazism was defeated. That war was not won by sitting down, making photo-ops, shaking hands and praying. It was won through much sacrifice and bloodshed, but as a result, this perverted philosophy that was so destructive to mankind was basically erased. And so, too, with this new, highly dangerous "religion" of militant Islam.
While the world each day is refining itself, growing, becoming more of a global village, these few fanatics would quickly send us back to the Dark Ages. Every effort must be made, and as quickly as possible, to wipe out these terrorists and the misguided philosophy they represent - before they get their hands on some serious firepower. A tiny nuclear device would make 9/11 look like kid's stuff; which brings us to the next point.
Seventh, Iran is planning on using nuclear power for only positive social functions, like providing clean electricity to its population. Huh? What planet do you live on? I mean, are we talking the Iran found on Jupiter or the one on Mother Earth? Forget the EU and UN negotiations and "strategies". They're known for fiddling while Rome burns.
Only one solution here, too, folks. Do what Israel did a few years back. Blow the nuclear facility off the dang map. Do we really want Iran to have nuclear weapons? Assuming that there's still some semblance of intelligence left - although, from the above, that might be a rather large assumption, nonetheless - enough idle talk. Time for action. I'm not saying get rid of Iran (although, hmmm... Okay, I'll behave), but that facility has simply got to go before, courtesy of the Iranians (who have all sorts of sleazy terrorist connections), there's nothing left of our planet.
Eighth: the so-called Palestinians own part, if not all, of Israel proper, and much (if not all) of Jerusalem. First of all, going back a mere 40 years, "Palestine" always referred to Israel and the Jews. In the 1950s and early '60s, people sang songs praising the early Jewish settlers of Palestine. Why were there no such creatures as "Palestinian Arabs" when the area was under British and Jordanian control? Why did they only come into existence once Israel started to prosper, and, more importantly, once Israel started winning all the wars it fought against Arab aggression? The answer is simple. Because everyone thought that Israel would, in fact, be wiped out by the much larger Arab armies, and thus, there would be no "Jewish/Israel Problem". But Israel won all the wars started by the Arabs.
To make matters worse for the Muslims, Israelis began truly building an amazing country, filled with growing, prosperous cities, beautiful forests and gardens. Suddenly, the land that barely gets a mention in the Koran, the city (Jerusalem) that was never honored by Muslims, became hot items. Hey, what could be better? Wait until others have done all the hard work, like building, plowing, cultivating, growing, etc., and then claim it as your own from the very beginning.
And so, a funny thing keeps surfacing in all these deals and negotiations with the so-called Palestinians - they're very good at taking, but not too reliable or responsive when it comes to giving. In fact, someone once described the Israel-Arab dialogue as a true give-and-take situation: Israel gives, the Arabs take.
We live in tough, challenging times that require steadfast, courageous leadership. The scourge of present-day terrorism can be stopped, but it needs to be met with the only language the terrorists themselves understand - military defeat. For our sakes, and for our children's sakes, we need to take our world back - before it's too late.