May
1
Today’s post is the final one in the series (in case the “Part 4 of 4” wasn’t obvious). This confession/self-revelation has been so cathartic, and I thank you all for reading. It is amazing what one can learn about one’s self from other people, even total strangers, isn’t it?
I know I implied this earlier, but — and this is really, really bad — …
9) I hate the environment — by which, of course, is meant not just any environment but the flora, fauna, air and oceans of the planet Earth. Yep, I hate Nature itself. How do I know this? Well, I don’t think that land development, whether for agricultural or commercial use, should necessarily be halted because someone at the Sierra Club thinks it might displace some critter from its natural habitat and maybe even cause it to go extinct. (They often show up elsewhere, anyway.) I don’t think that a hydroelectric dam that powers thousands of homes and businesses should be shut down because a few silver eels sometimes get caught in the turbines. I don’t think an entire industry should be regulated to death or just killed (e.g., logging, mining), thereby eliminating hundreds of jobs and endangering entire communities and the businesses that service them, because some treehugger decided that the local owl or sand dune lizard population was more important. There are other examples, but you get the idea.
Don’t get me wrong — I love animals and am fascinated by the diversity just within certain regions, let alone the world. (Plants are great, too, but there are fewer of them that make me think “Cool!”) I’m all for responsible conservationism — which includes hunting, by the way, to avoid overpopulation of some animals –, but not the radical environmentalism that has gained power & popularity of late, with its alarmism and extremist views.
This also means I don’t think government should be subsidizing all manner of “alternative energy sources.” Some have already proven to be uneconomical and/or unreliable, and we (i.e., the American taxpayers) can’t spare the money to keep throwing at them. I say, leave it to entrepreneurs and corporations with private funding to continue pursuing these alternatives. If they see sufficient progress in the relative technologies, they will keep at it. The profit motive works. Meanwhile, I think we should continue to take full advantage of natural gas, oil, clean coal, nuclear, and (where feasible) hydroelectric energy resources. They are proven, relatively cheap (at least, once the initial investments are made), and not nearly as dangerous as liberals and environmentalists make them out to be. (How can I say that?!) Which leads to the topic of…
Catastrophic Man-made Global Warming.
Yeah, I’m not really worried about that. I believe there has indeed been a slight upturn in overall global temperatures over the past several hundred years, and I think humans have contributed to it somewhat. But, I am not convinced that it will ultimately be catastrophic, contrary to what the alarmists say. I just don’t think the evidence that they present is persuasive; in fact, it has been proven that the so-called experts are agenda-driven and will sometimes add, remove, or otherwise falsify data to skew the results in favor of what they have been tasked to prove. So, I do not think that the radical plans of Al Gore et al. to “save the planet” are feasible, let alone needed. In fact, they would/will add an unnecessary economic burden on any nation that tries to comply.
But, who am I kidding? I really do hate nature and don’t care if all the animals go extinct and we destroy the planet, as long as we can have more shopping malls and condo complexes and drive big gas guzzlers. Until we all fry, freeze, and get flooded out due to “climate change”, that is. The liberals tell me so, so it must be true.
Heading into the home stretch, here…
10) Last but not least, I am an Islamophobe. I hate Muslims! According to Google’s dictionary, Islamophobia is “A hatred or fear of Islam or Muslims, esp. when feared as a political force.” Once again, I didn’t realize that I harbored such hatred or fear. I admit that I disagree theologically with Islam, as well as any associated political teaching. As an evangelical Christian who believes in orthodox, classical Christianity, I believe that the religion of Islam is false (as are all other religions). This is because Christianity, like Islam, is exclusivist. But, nothing in my faith system teaches me to hate those of other religions and worldviews; and, I didn’t think that I did.
I do fear those Muslims who feel it is their duty to Allah to spread Shariah Law and Islamic rule wherever and however they can. I fear those Muslims who believe they are justified in murdering anyone — including civilians, women & children, sick & elderly — just to strike fear in the hearts of “the infidel” (i.e., non-Muslims). I fear those Muslims who will cavalierly sacrifice even their own people in suicidal terrorist attacks and hide themselves and their weapons behind non-combatants (even children). I despise these brutal and craven acts, but I do not hate those who do them. (At least, I didn’t think so.) Nor do I let that fear keep me from leading a normal life. (It’s not like I live in the Middle East, after all.)
“[F]ight them until persecution is no more, and religion is all for Allah.” (Surah 8:39)
“…slay the idolaters wherever ye find them, and take them (captive), and besiege them, and prepare for them each ambush….” (Surah 9:5)
“Al-Jihad (the holy fighting) in Allah’s Cause (with full force of number and weaponry) is given the utmost importance in Islam and it one of its pillars (on which it stands).” (Sahih of Al-Bukhari, Islam’s most trusted tradition (moreso by Sunni than Shia))
FBI Most Wanted Terrorists - 2010
Because of the reality that such people exist and continue to plan and to attack Americans and others, I think it is prudent for law-enforcement, intelligence agencies, and the military to consider people’s religious, ethnic, and national origins when trying to identify and apprehend bad guys. Not all jihadists are, or even look, Middle-Eastern. Not all Middle-Easterners, nor all Muslims, support or are involved in Islamist terrorism. (Though, recent estimates say that about 10% of all Muslims do, and that’s a heckuva lot!) But, when the majority of those committing terrorist acts fit this profile, then “profiling” should include it. That’s not “racial profiling”; it’s “criminal profiling” — or, more accurately, “terrorist profiling”.
Well, liberals tell me that this means I don’t care about these people’s civil rights and I am giving in to knee-jerk reactionism. Even racism. (Which would be odd, since Middle-Easterners are of the same “race” as those of White European ancestry like me.) More to the point, the above thinking means I am an Islamophobe. This would definitely be a surprise to my Muslim friends back in New Jersey. I guess we were all just blind to the truth about the real me.
Thank God for liberals. They know me better than I know myself. Just ask ’em!
