Day 2 Essay "Why Do The Nations Rage?"

Baby dressed as homicide bomber AP photo



Why Do the Nation’s Rage?

“Don’t you think the bombers were motivated by actions taken by the prior administration?”

“YOU don’t understand…when you have no hope, you do desperate things…”

“It goes back to the Crusades…these people have long memories…”

“It was a Israeli conspiracy, no Jews died.”

“People see movies, television shows, videos, and are jealous and resentful, Americans have everything and they feel they have nothing and are angry. So they choose to die…”

“People’s religion’s can drive them to all sorts of things…look, you can’t point your finger at Islam, haven’t Christians killed abortion doctors and bombed clinics?”

These are statements that I have had said to me over the course of the last three years and even further back. Pen pals from Europe and the Middle East, customers and people on the internet have all had reasons why the world seems to hate the United States. From our conspicuous consumption, perceived loose morals, and globalization, to our overwhelming superiority militarily. I have pondered the reasons for the overwhelming dislike that the world seems to have of my country . Iraq conflict not with standing, this conflict has been a long time coming. No one could have expected for the attacks to be so spectacular and effective. After all, we too are guilty of having narrow vision. We would have never believed that islamic bandits could be so sophisticated in their terror.

We are the lone Superpower. We are the survivor of the Cold War, soundly defeating the Soviets at their own game. Let the critics say that it was eventually going to happen. I say that was not the case as do many other people that I know that were living there, in nations behind the Iron Curtain. They were going to do what they had to do to maintain the status quo and quite frankly it was the prayers of the persecuted saints and the faith of one man and his vision of a better future that God honored…There are many in the Russian government that hate us for that. Hate that we ended their control of a vast empire and unleashed the islamic madness upon them. They resent the change that brought poverty to so many and decimated the culture that they grew up in. They had planned to retire or live out their lives under the cradle to grave care of the Communist State. They are, as a people, virulently Anti Semitic and hate Israel and all it stands for. It is this that allowed those that had access to Weapons of Mass Destruction to put them into the hands of mad men for a price. And with the tragedy of the mass killing at the school this week they hate us even more. Do not for a moment think that Moscow is our friend, for was it not the Russians that said that “Revenge is a dish that is best served cold?”. One day they will lift up their heel against America. It is also my belief that one day the Russian Army will join the Islamists for a great attack against Israel and be soundly defeated.

Our position as the Lone Superpower has stirred the resentment of Western Europe. As a prideful continent of old cultures, we as an upstart nation formed by revolutionary colonials, the fact that we have supplanted them on the world stage wounds their haughty pride like nothing else. First as anguished supplicants of our military help in two world wars, then as recipients of the money and manpower to rebuild the war ruined cities of the Continent. Our military bases formed a line of protection and separation between Communism's hunger for control and the Free World’s open marketplace. But gratitude is like a garment given, then when worn too long, it begins to chafe and smell,so has the resentment has been building for a long time. It cropped up as early as the 1950’s When the French wanted the American military presence removed from France. Then president Eisenhower said” and shall we remove our dead solders from the cemeteries on your coastline as well?” Today we have the Green’s in Germany clamoring for the removal of our bases. How quickly they forget Berlins wall!

Our material wealth, our natural resources and ability to gain access to the resources in other nations is a source of hatred and envy. There is little understanding of the effort that brought this about. For 200 years we in the United States have been the hardest working most productive society ever seen on this planet. We have taken risks, learned the skills of negotiation, and have come along side great enterprises. We have the highest percentage of our population gainfully employed than any other nation on earth and this has been true for much of the last 100 years. This creates wealth. America has accepted the immigrants of every nation, especially those that were not accepted in their own countries. It is precisely this cast off genius that was the resource for innovative ideas and generated great innovations in every field. The Melting Pot is the source of renewed life in every walk of life. It brings challenges and conflict, but it also brings renewed hope. Free Enterprise; the ability to take a dream and turn it into a reality is America’s gift to the world.

Our political system is a model of democratic process. No other country prior to ours had ever been founded on such principles. Yes there have been problems, but on the whole for a young country and a new idea, it has gone very well. The very idea that even the least person and women should have a say in the political life of a nation is enough to drive certain groups into a rage. The fact that we as a nation would want this for their own people and are prepared to do what it takes to see that come about threatens them to the point of madness. Intertwined in that thought is the freedom to practice our faith how we see fit. The fact that our faiths and their faith are different, and therefore, in conflict is like throwing gasoline onto a fire... Thus in an act of faith, and to preserve their perverted vision of how the world should be, Four airplanes were used as weapons of mass destruction on that cloudless September day.

There were celebrations in many places on that dreadful day. There were those that felt a incurable blow had been struck against the giant America. People cheered in the streets in many towns Im told even in some areas of New York City, and handed out candies and sweets. I still do not understand this, for even if I hated someone, I couldn’t hate them to death, especially people that I didn’t know. I shudder to think of a faith like that. A religion of death, nothing life affirming in it, for if there was, there would not have been dancing in the streets of Muslim towns as the burning towers collapsed and people jumped to their deaths...

I firmly believe that the answer is spiritual. The hatred of America is less about the globalization of Big Macs than it is about the fact that that many of us have a faith that they abhor. Islam teaches that the Muslim is of a higher order than others and its this smug superiority that allows them to commit the heinous acts against others with no feelings of guilt or shame. Islam teaches world dominance and that all should have to convert or die. There are those that take that charge seriously and are trying to implement that charge. This is not a new effort, for the Muslim armies marched on Europe as late as the 16th century and there have been inroads since in smaller waves . Currently the conquest is being undertaken by attrition and much of Europe is under the sway of the mosque, via immigration. One cannot discount the “Eurabia” effect in the resentment of America by the Europeans.

The Islamists hate America for its vigorous support of the nation of Israel, for our firm belief that the Jewish people have an ancestral and moral right to these lands that many purchased with money, settled for ownership and later sacrificed for with the blood of her sons and daughters. The whole Palestinian Question is bogus, and is simply a land grab. Most in the Arab world know this, few in the west understand how history has been rewritten to support the violence and brutality that has taken place in the so called Occupied Territories. But this is not a form for that discussion, however it is one of the driving forces I believe, that lead to the murderous thinking and ultimate execution of the evil deeds of that day in September.

With that in mind let us be more vigorous in protecting our heritage as a free nation. Let us not submit to the rage and live in fear. Let us walk boldly into the future knowing that we serve a God that sees and will vindicate the righteous. Let us understand and try to exercise compassion where possible and firmness when needed. America needs to remain a leader. We need to stay strong and resist the terror blackmail. We need to resist every effort being made to distance ourselves from the only truly democratic state in the region, Israel, and we must not forget that God promises over and over in His Word that those who are true friends to His people are friends of His, and will receive His special blessings. We also need to, as a people turn our face back to God and seek Him. God is our only protection against the adversary that we face… In truth, God is our only hope.