Why do they hate us?

“WOW!!!!

Orbit, I must admit you may have read me ALL wrong. I'm not that type of goose stepper!!! It is not a race or religious issue is strictly an AMERICAN one and all that it entails. Its more than that, "you're either with us or without us" thing.
Its a simple question to ask.. Would you rather die for country or your God?

You are a fool not to believe that the wheels of the FBI CIA NSA INS(your Nazi) in conjunction with other nations are not churning thru countless files making connections and following up on pending investigations of possible suspect here and aboard.

Orb!!!, have you every been across the pond to London and walk the streets and public areas/buildings? There are literally signs all over the place reminding the Public to keep an open eye out for suspicious actives/items. Plain and simple. Just a friendly reminder that TERRORIST may be about. Just look alive when it is your time to act like they did in the skies above Pa. is all that I ask from every American.

Face it, the 9/11 tradegy hits us a little harder then we would have expected in many ways. EXPECT FURTHER INFRINGEMENTS on what you consider sacred as a result of that. Our Big Brother needs to grow just alittle bit more or we need to adapted to terrorist in our backyards? Orb you make the call!!!

Where is OUR national security? Do you know how lax our borders are? How cares about YOUR freakin Mexican neighbor really!!!! when we have bigger fish fry?
How easy it was Shake Abdul Rocman and followers to make into the US after being chased from Eygpt? Sadly, a lax government there too, nobody as been in the watchtower for years. Orb, reality says they are here and will continue to reappear till they are eradicated. How do you suggest we cure our plight?”

“"Like it or not, the reason we prioritize the acquisition of material goods, is that we have no more significant worries, such as being oppressed for our religious or political beliefs, and are free to go about our ignorant acquisitiveness. Would that the rest of the world could be so "ignorant."

Perhaps if we weren't helping the ruling parties in some other countries to oppress their own people, their citizens would also be able to enjoy more freedom and time to prosper.”

“Spock, Tthe three things you mention are all good examples of major U.S. screw-ups in policy. But war? I don't think so. War assumes the existence of an enemy.

I believe that one of the reasons that the U.S. walked out of the UN conference on racism was because the arab nations were unwilling to accept any part in their own racist practices. While most U.S. citizens are either coming to understand or already believe that Israel does have racist practices, the arabs have never been willing to accept their part. While unconditional support for Isreal may be a selfish motive on our part, it is no reason for war. Everyone needs to look at their contibution to creating conflict. Finger pointing doesn't get it.”

“Omahiker, just out of curiosity, do you honestly believe that unless we blindly accept / agree with everything we do in America that we're "not Americans" or "proud to be an American"? Do you not realize that one of the reasons we have progressed is that we don not accept the status quo, and question what we do? Do you not realize that if one is not honestly introspective then one will not progress?

To suggest I am "not proud to be an American" because I challenge some of our past policies is very shortsighted.”

“I'm proud
to be an American
I'm proud
of the groovy things we've done
There's television, free religion, Rock 'n' roll, Standard Oil,
Times Square, Jimmy Darren, Corey Wells, and Smokey Bear,
price reduction, reconstruction, Peace Corps, and lots more
culture that we got to lend

I'm proud
to be an American
And I'm proud
Had a great time bein' one
There's your school and my school and both of us in high school,
surfboards, cigarettes, homework, Southern Comfort
Boy's dean was real mean,
Made us keep our locker's clean
Failed nearly every class
Ditchin' was a gas

I'm proud
to be a young American
I'm proud, just think about it
All the far out things that we've begun
There's revolution, constitution, land, sea, and air pollution,
cold wars, hot wars, gas wars, and confrontutions,
constipation, consternation, open hearted palpitations
Muscular Dystrophy

I'm proud to be an American
Because we got department stores
full of cheap guitars
But when Sputnik plays 'em, you just go go go go

I'm proud to be an American--we got two chickens in every garage
And I wish every other kid could be one--in my country, the medium is the massage
'Cause it's impossible to give
Equality and justice to inferior foreigners
too jealous to trust us

Gimme your weak and your homeless
How 'bout checkin' the oil ah, fella?

I'm proud to be an American

--The Tubes”

“To not accept the existence of "The Ugly American" is much like the story of "The Emperor's New Clothes".
Seeing that and admitting it does not make one any less an American who loves his country.

I love my father but he is far from perfect.

yo mel-
I like to listen to NPR while drinking beer and preparing a dinner of pork products.”

“AH....

Kleety is a Tubes fan!

Sue, Sue, Su su sushi!”

“At least those Arabs are willing to die for what they believe in...something that used to be an American trait until we turned into a nation of cowards who sit in the recliner and watch tv images of cruise missiles lobbed at the middle east." is a ridiculous troll. Let's keep this serious.

Violin
10/10/01

Violin, that came directly from the TV show "Politically Correct." Is that program and Bill Mayer "ridiculous?"

"You insist on calling America a "terrorist" nation but what nation in the world has been more altruistic towards other nations, and treated its own people better, than America?" - OmaHiker

Refer to how America has treated its own...the Native American Indian.

"A big reason that they hate us, is that their governments encourage it, to distract their own poor and oppressed people from hating THEM." - Omahiker

How do explain Saudi Arabia and Kuwait? Also, I don't have time to answer all your questions. How does denying food/medicine to Iraqi children deprive Saddam of weapons of mass destruction. It's fairly sertain that those children aren't going to rise up against Saddam and overthrow him. Give the kids a break. Soldiers die in wars, many. That's war, you want it, you got it. It's a war crime to deliberately target the innocent with A-Bombs on city centers. What should Palestinians do when Israeli police kill children for throwing rocks? Do those children deserve to die?


Ditto. Bravo wanderer, Bravo.”

“A big reason that they hate us, is that their governments encourage it, to distract their own poor and oppressed people from hating THEM." - Omahiker, Or Osama bin Laden

Is that why G.W. demonizes the Taliban and Osama?”

“http://abc.go.com/primetime/politicallyincorrect/press_release.html

Violin, this URL is Maher's retraction from his comment.”

“Maher's show is "Politically Incorrect".

I saw it a while ago, certainly before 9/11.
One of the guests was Revvum Falwell!
That man(Falwell) is a certifiable TWINKIE!!!”

“?We have been the cowards, lobbing cruise missiles from 2,000 miles away, that?s cowardly. Staying in the airplane when it hits the building, say what you want about it, that?s not cowardly.?
- Bill Maher


What I really took as ridiculous was: "You want iol(sic)...you pay for it with your life.

What kind of economic system is that???”

“What I'd hope to provoke here was some thoughtful self-reflection. Not another us vs. Spock thread.

I think that foreign policy is extremely complicated and forces us to choose from a menu that is less than ideal. The choices we as a nation make have serious long-term consequences, not only for us but the entire world.”

“Our democratic ideals cannot be immediately imposed upon a fuedal society or militaristic dictatorship but we can and should work toward a spread of democracy as it will produce a world where people have less excuse to resort to terrorism.”

“Everyone re-read Violin's last post, please. Debate with intelligence & knowledge, not with il-conceived prejudices and ignorance of facts, so that we can choose the right path.

I am an American, and proud of it. I am also a human being, and proud of it. There are other opinions other than our own, please broaden your horizons, it DOES NOT take away from who / what you are, it only gives you more insight into how others may think, and why.”

“Yeah, I tried provoking some discussion a few weeks ago here about "WHY" it happened. LOL.”

“Violin was too fast for me. The post I was referring to that I asked everyone to re-read...

"What I'd hope to provoke here was some thoughtful self-reflection. Not another us vs. Spock thread.

I think that foreign policy is extremely complicated and forces us to choose from a menu that is less than ideal. The choices we as a nation make have serious long-term consequences, not only for us but the entire world."”

“Call me paranoid but I consider my self a cautious shopper. I do feel we need more security in this country but I am not willing to pay any price for a little peace of mind. I feel that many in this country do not fully understand how lucky we are with all the liberties & freedom we have & take them for granted. Many of my generation (X) do not even have the capacity to imagine what it would be like without them.

If you have ever asked your self how were the German People able to go along with Hitler & his evil Nazi ideas. Look around right now. We are sheep, take our ability to be other than that & that is all we will ever be, Sheep looking for a Shepard any Shepard even an evil Shepard.

Look at history. We have been warned over & over by history to protect & value our freedoms. We have learned that freedom is not free. It has it?s price & the price is blood. History alone tells us that freedom & liberty is more valuable than life itself. ?Give me liberty or give me death? I would rather die a free man than live like those poor buggers who hate us so much. It is proven that given an opportunity an opportunist will take all he can. How do you think evil SOB?s like Hitler & Bin Ladin come to power?

I want to protect our interests as much as the next guy but I don?t want to leave the door open for some Stalin, Hitler, Torquemada, Cesar, Bin Ladin to destroy all of what our forefathers have given so much for; freedom. Before you know it we will be back where we started fighting for freedom but we will have tied our own hands behind our backs. And don?t even try telling me that that could never happen here. It can & if we are not very carefull in these trying times it will.

I also don?t want us to make any more victims than we already have. I am white as a powdered donut & in this country that is a good thing. I have done peace work about this great planet in places where being white was not all Cake & creame. I tasted a small bit of negative racism (that?s when you are at the short end) & it was minor, not even close to the scale we are dealing with here in the US & all I can say is I would not whish it upon anyone to be discriminated, profiled, ignored, disrespected just because of the color of ones skin or religious beliefs. Besides all we will be doing by these proposed race based actions is planting more seeds of hate. We don?t need to perpetuate this madness.

You ask me for a solution I will admit that I don?t have one. At least one that will sound better that any of other crap I have heard so far. But by God we better come up with one & soon. I have yet to hear a solution that dose not have great potential to backfire & bite us in the ass at least ten fold in the future. Right now I?m putting all my faith in our president & leader of the free world G. W. Bush. Bush Don?t let us down.”

“I'm not putting my faith in a liar, coward (Air Force Reserves), and cocaine party boy. Sorry. I would bet Osama has a higher IQ than G.W. The only positive thing I've seen from Bush is his rhetoric about a Palestinian State. But I'm afraid it's just a ruse and propaganda.”

“I?m going against my better judgment to get into this subject but?.

I don?t think Bush is just spewing propaganda on Palestinian policy. He and Sharone have had a spat over this subject already. It may just be my wishful thinking but from all appearances he seams to be a straight shooter on this deal. I haven?t seen any reason to believe otherwise. I don?t agree with what the government of Israel is doing to the Palestinians, but the PLO did pull the trigger first. Ever sense it has been a case of two people pointing their guns at each other yelling, ?Drop the gun! Drop the gun!? and neither will drop the gun. If the Palestinians had any other representative besides the PLO (nothing but a legitimized terrorist organization) I think there would be fewer problems. IMHO what Israel needs to do is agree to let the Palestinians full rights as Israeli born citizens and to agree to allow Jerusalem to be a JOINT capital.

Wishful thinking, I know.”

“Here's another take.

I'll present it without comment. Here are a few out-takes:

"How much easier for nonvoters of the Arab world to vent frustration at the West, as if, in some Machiavellian plot, a democratic America, Israel and Europe have conspired to prevent Muslims from adopting the Western invention of democracy! Democracy is hardly a Western secret to be closely guarded and kept from the mujahideen. Islam is welcome to it, with the blessing and subsidy of the West. Yes, we must promote democracy abroad in the Muslim world; but only they, not we, can ensure its success."

"But blaming the West, and Israel, for the unendurable reality is easier for millions of Muslims than admitting the truth. Billions of barrels of oil, large populations, the Suez Canal, the fertility of the Nile, Tigris and Euphrates valleys, invaluable geopolitical locations and a host of other natural advantages that helped create wealthy civilizations in the past now yield an excess of misery, rather than the riches of resource-poor Hong Kong or Switzerland. How could it be otherwise, when it takes bribes and decades to obtain a building permit in Cairo, when habeas corpus is a cruel joke in Baghdad, and when Saudi Arabia turns out more graduates in Islamic studies than in medicine or engineering?"

"Throughout the Muslim world, myth and ignorance surround U.S. foreign policy toward the Middle East. Yes, we give Israel aid, but less than the combined billions that go to the Palestinians and to Egypt, Jordan and other Muslim countries. And it is one thing to subsidize a democratic and constitutional (if cantankerous) ally but quite another to pay for slander from theocratic or autocratic enemies. Though Israel has its fair share of fundamentalists and fanatics, the country is not the creation of clerics or strongmen but of European émigrés, who committed Israel from the start to democracy, free speech and abundant self-critique.
Far from egging on Israel, the United States actually restrains the Israeli military, whose organization and discipline, along with the sophisticated Israeli arms industry, make it quite capable of annihilating nearly all its bellicose neighbors without American aid. Should the United States withdraw from active participation in the Middle East and let the contestants settle their differences on the battlefield, Israel, not the Arab world, would win. The military record of four previous conflicts does not lie. Arafat should remember who saved him in Lebanon; it was no power in the Middle East that brokered his exodus and parted the waves of Israeli planes and tanks for his safe passage to the desert.

The Muslim world suffers from political amnesia, we now have learned, and so has forgotten not only Arafat's resurrection but also American help to beleaguered Afghans, terrified Kuwaitis, helpless Kurds and Shiites, starving Somalis and defenseless Bosnians--direct intervention that has cost the United States much more treasure and lives than mere economic aid for Israel ever did."”

“Violin, when are they gonna let the residents of the West Bank and Gaza vote in Israeli elections?

Sure, the Arabs struck first, but it's been 33 years. Let them vote. Then Israel would be a full Democracy - not an apartheid style pseudo-Democratic state.

I have little sympathy for either side, but I don't see the US gaining much strategically from our alliance with Israel. Does it have any oil? When have American planes ever taken off from a base in Israel in support of an American mission?

The reality is that a war has been raging for more than three decades. The Palestinians have proven that they have an inexhaustible supply of suicide bombers and that Israel can never be secure while occupying the West Bank/Gaza.

Essentially, the Palestinians have won the war. The only question is how long it will take the Israelis to realize this fact.

Israel has enough nukes to protect its existence. It needs to leave the occupied lands as soon as possible. It won't be any less safe.

We have supported Israel in large part because of Jewish voting blocks in America. Arab-Americans now are pretty much equal in voting power. And I think there is a growing number of people willing to question this alliance.”

“It's like this people anywhere no matter what race or whatever you are.If you have money you have power.Places that don't have things like we do don't like us becuase we have what they want.

Thats the way the world works.Sad but true!

8|”

“KALISPELL, Montana (Reuters) -- Montana officials are weighing charges against a militia group dubbed "Project 7" which allegedly amassed stockpiles of ammunition, weapons and survival gear in a plot to assassinate officials and foment an anti-government revolution.

Flathead County Sheriff Jim Dupont said the group's alleged ringleader, 38-year-old David Burgert, was being held in the Flathead County jail on charges of assaulting a peace officer and jumping bail.

His girlfriend, 32-year-old Tracy Brockway, is being charged with obstruction of justice for hiding Burgert.

Dupont said Burgert was expected to be charged with an array of crimes related to "Project 7", the latest militia group to surface in Montana, long known as a refuge for anti-government activists ranging from the Freemen to Unabomber Ted Kaczynski.

Police said Burgert and his nine-member group were apparently plotting a series of bloody attacks against local and state officials, possibly as early as this summer.

The objective, officials said, was to force the state to call out the National Guard, who would then become the targets of a wider resistance effort which ultimately would cause the downfall of the U.S. government.

"Apparently, on a certain day, by going out and killing people, they were going to trigger a revolution that would bring down the U.S. government," Dupont said.

Dupont said the alleged plot came to light several weeks ago when he was approached by a member of the group who offered to serve as an informant.

Scary people
Sheriff's officers searching for Burgert found him at Brockway's home, but after a 24-hour standoff the officers, fearing a shootout, allowed the couple to leave, but their pickup truck became stuck in a snowbank and they were arrested.

A search of Burgert's home turned up the cache of weapons including automatic machine guns, snare bombs, thousands of rounds of ammunition and survival gear as well as a list of the group's alleged targets, who included several judges, the county sheriff and two deputy district attorneys.

Dupont said that the FBI had joined local officials in the investigation, which he described as still in its early stages.

He said that Burgert had been a well-known anti-government activist in the Kalispell area, a scenic area of northern Montana near Glacier National Park.

"Anything involving the government, he was against," Dupont said. "These people are scary, because they have a cause and they believe in it."

Montana's militia movements hit the headlines in 1996 when a group calling itself the Freemen held off the FBI in a tense 81-day standoff after officials targeted them on charges of fraud and robbery.

That same year federal agents descended on northern Montana to arrest Unabomber Ted Kaczynski, who holed up in a tiny cabin to plot his campaign of bombing terror and write his anti-technology "manifesto". Kaczynski is currently serving a life sentence for three murders.”

“Hey, Violin:

After rereading your post, I want to retract the direction of my post away from yours. My points still stand, but your post was more nuanced than I gave credit for.”

“Newgirl looked much younger than 32 years old.”

“I am not unbiased on the matter of Israel/Palestine. It would be a shame to turn our backs on Israel. Let the Palestinians form their own country, (the direction that Isaac Rabin was taking Israel), and they can have their own democracy. However, as long as suicide bombers continue to walk into marketplaces and kill innocent civilians with the blessing of so many Palestinians, it is hard to feel any sympathy with them, whatsoever.
And...I agree that Violin's post was about so much more than just Israel/Palestine. The Arab nations have a great opportunity and obligation before them to begin to bring more political power to the people of their respective countries. For many generations, the Arab world was much more progressive and intelligent than it is now. It's time for another rennaisance in the Middle East.”

“Lol @ Kleetn.

BTW, I think they found 30,000 rounds of ammo when they raided David Burgert's home.”

“Did they pry them out of his cold dead hands?”

“we have better television




and




we have better gear stores






and






more and nicer places to use our new gear.”

“WASHINGTON (AP) -- In President Nixon's Oval Office, the Rev. Billy Graham didn't mince words in describing his feelings about Jews and the media: "This stranglehold has got to be broken or this country's going down the drain."

On Friday, the 83-year-old evangelist apologized for his words spoken 30 years ago and captured on an audio tape. The conversation was among 500 hours of Nixon tapes released this week by the National Archives. Most were recorded between January and June 1972.

"Although I have no memory of the occasion, I deeply regret comments I apparently made in an Oval Office conversation with President Nixon ... some 30 years ago," Graham said in a statement released by his Texas public relations firm. "They do not reflect my views and I sincerely apologize for any offense caused by the remarks."

In the conversation with Nixon, the Southern Baptist evangelist expressed disdain for what he saw as Jewish domination of the media.

"You believe that?" Nixon says in response.

"Yes, sir," says Graham.

"Oh boy. So do I," Nixon agrees, then says: "I can't ever say that, but I believe it."

"No, but if you get elected a second time, then we might be able to do something," Graham says.

...................

This is Christianity. This is what America worships... Billy Graham and his Hatred for Jews. Pat Robertson and his Hatred for Islam. Is it any wonder why there is so much religious hatred fueling the violence in the world.”

“Would you want all the contents of every one of your private conversations broadcast for all the world to see?

And would you want it to happen 30 years after the fact when the rules of what is good/bad are completely different?

While I don't like the proselytizing aspects of evangelical Christianity, I think Billy Graham is a good man. He apologized. Use your energies someplace else.”

“we're spoiled and stupid?”

“Kleetn, you are too funny. Kalispell is on the other side of the state from me though.
Biz, I would actually have to agree w/ you there.”

“I suppose Henry Hyde would agree that it was simply 'a youthful indiscretion.' After all, Billy was only 53 at the time...

I just don't understand the hatefulness from these allegedly religious people. They seem to have forgotten the basic tenets of their own religions. And they're supposed to be the leaders?

They're dangerous and sick, IMO.”

“Hey, I think it is fair for Billy Graham to take a hit in the media. Wasn't there just a television special glorifying him?
The price of being held up as a leader is the scrutiny that follows.”

“The rules of "what is good and bad" have not changed and will not.

It was wrong to slam Jews 30 years ago and its wrong now.

I'm afraid Billy Graham is just another Snake Oil Salesman like Pat Robertson, etc

A lot of decent people follow these so-called leaders and hang on their words.
If these words are words of hate and intolerance, then they are following these rotten men down an awful path.

Jews have done right by America.
You will not find many of them in prison or hanging out on the street hustling or causing trouble.

As a group, Jews contribute more than their share to the economic well-being of America.

Jews contribute far less than other ethnic groups to the ranks of alcoholics and drug addicts.

Me, I'm Irish.....enough said”

“Tom Terrific couldn't have said it better.”

“Just curious -- why is it necessary to tear into some groups to build up others, if only by implication? No grouping of persons is particularly saintly, nor is it 'evil'.”

“I suppose that the trashing of some ethnic groups gets a lot of traction with some people.

These mouth-piece guys know that and keep themselves riding high.”

“I saw a replay last night of Al Franken's routine at the National Press Club from earlier in the week. I laughed my ass off at least four times. He was quoting Falwell: "Sept. 11 was really the fault of gays and feminists."

W T F ?”

“Al Franken for President!!!”

“Violin:

There are some hugely misleading bits of information in your large cut and paste:

1) The CIA has overthrown democratically elected regimes in the middle east.

2) US aid to Israel, on a per capita basis, exceeds the median income for some countries. On a per capita basis it dwarfs the aid given to the Arab countries and, if you exclude Egypt, the aid given to Israel dwarfs the aid given to all Arab countries combined.

For example: I just looked up the gross national income for Sudan. Per capita, it is about the same as the aid (per capita) that Israel gets from the US.

3. The Israeli Army is superior to its neighbors, in large part because of US aid and Israel has successfully lobbied against the US selling competitive weapons to its enemies.

4) The US has had a great deal to do with supporting dictatorships in Moslem countries. The Shah of Iran is only one critical example.

I am not saying that there is no scapegoating of Israel and the US going on. I am just saying that there is far more than mere scape goating.

5) Looking at the official tables for US aid to other countries (pdf file via link at http://dosfan.lib.uic.edu/ERC/ercdesk/foreignaidFARQ.html). There seems to be a big net inflo from Kuwait and Saudi Arabia (payment for the Gulf War?) for the period from '86 to '95.”

“There ya go Ped, clouding the issue with facts again! 8)”

“It looks like we're not the only ones doing some introspection:


The good that’s coming from Sept. 11
By Rasheed Abou-Alsamh

One year after the tragic attacks on New York City and the Pentagon, it may come as a surprise to many Americans, but in a strange way the attacks have brought good to Saudi Arabia and the rest of the Muslim world. You wouldn’t come to this conclusion if you paid attention to only one segment of the Saudi press that has focused on bewailing the vicious American attacks on the Kingdom and Islam in the press and on television. You have to read a little bit more closely, and there you will find the voices of moderation rising up and saying: “Enough is enough!”

The horrific attacks by Muhammad Atta and the 15 other hijackers who were Saudis, have brought the whole Saudi nation to a crucial crossroads: Either keep ignoring the harm being done to Islam and all Muslims by a minority of violent extremists or grasp this rare opportunity to take our society into a new direction and use it to also explain the peacefulness and beauty of Islam to the whole world.

Unfortunately, most Saudis have not been in the habit of thinking for themselves, being analytical or being insightful. From an early age, Saudis are taught to memorize facts in school and not question authority or ask the question “what if?” The fabulous wealth that oil brought us, and that has enabled us to develop spectacularly in the past 30 years, has also been a curse that has lulled too many of us into a state of complacency.

This same complacency leads many of us into vehemently denying the criticism we hear of our society coming from America, but I think we are reacting so violently because the criticism is hitting home in a very hard way. What many don’t realize is that we have given foreigners the chance to criticize us because of the Sept. 11 attacks on America. Before Sept. 11 there was occasional grumbling about the way women are treated in the Kingdom, but this didn’t jeopardize our relations with the United States because they needed our oil and we had never attacked them.

Today it’s a totally different story. Everything done or said by Saudis is now examined under a very sharp microscope in the US: the way we treat foreigners, our educational system and our form of governance are all being dissected and analyzed by angry Americans who want to know why the US was attacked last year and what sort of society produced 15 of the 19 hijackers.

To overcome this immense crisis, one that the Kingdom has never faced before, we must begin to right the wrongs in our society and at the same time show the world our many positive attributes and achievements. It will be a long and rocky road, but it is a journey that we must undertake if we want to be proud once again of ourselves, and if we want to remain independent.

First, we must stop denying that any of the hijackers were Saudis or even Arab. We must also stop saying that the Sept. 11 attacks were a CIA-Zionist plot to make the Arabs and Islam look bad. This is utter nonsense! We must be mature and responsible enough to admit that these sick minds that hatched and perpetrated these dastardly attacks were, sadly, a product of a twisted viewpoint of our society and religion. We must ask what went wrong and how we can change our society and education system so that this won’t ever happen again. Blaming others for our shortcomings as a society won’t get us anywhere, and will only serve to alienate us further from the rest of the world.

Second, we must stop the hatred being taught to our children in schools. Why are they being taught to hate non-Muslims? Is this a reasonable way to bring up future citizens of the world? Hardly.Although I didn’t grow up in Saudi Arabia, being half-American, I too have personally experienced the intolerance preached by too many in this country: Just after the Gulf War I was driving two Christian friends to my house for Iftar (the breaking of the fast) during Ramadan. As I was running a little late, I picked them up after Iftar had begun. Since everyone was already at home eating, the streets of Jeddah were empty. Just as I was pulling out of the parking space in front of a closed toy store, a police patrol car came by and stopped. Two policemen motioned for me to step out of my car, which I did. They asked to see my ID card and my driver’s license, both of which I handed over. My two friends, one Filipino the other American, also handed over their identification. The policeman asked me to open the trunk of my car, telling me that perhaps I had just robbed the toy store! I opened my car’s trunk and they looked inside. Satisfied that they hadn’t found anything, I thought they would let us be on our way. Was I mistaken! They ordered my two friends to step into their vehicle. When I asked why, the said “just because”. One of the policemen took me aside and began giving me a lecture on how I shouldn’t be associating with non-believers. I couldn’t believe my ears, and told him that since they were Christians, and thus People of the Book, that it was perfectly OK to associate with them and even marry women from that religion. He looked at me as if I was crazy and shook his head: “No, no, no. I don’t care if they are People of the Book or not. They’re not Muslims!” I couldn’t argue anymore as I saw it wouldn’t change this man’s mind. After a few tense minutes they released all of us, and laughing, told us we could go on our way.

Now I knew that they in no way represented a common Saudi viewpoint on Muslims befriending non-Muslims, but obviously this policeman’s personal beliefs had been shaped while growing up in such a way that he just considered all non-Muslims as being beyond the pale. What a shame. It is this type of thinking that must not be allowed to be propagated. Millions of non-Muslim foreigners have worked hard to develop the Kingdom’s infrastructure and economy.

To America and the rest of the world, we must show them that we are indeed striving to be a just society, a moderate one, where the rights of women, foreigners and non-Muslims are respected and honored. We must prove that Saudis are not the arrogant and lazy SOBs that the Western press likes to characterize us as being.

I personally am optimistic about the future of Saudis and of Saudi Arabia. Every day I see more and more Saudis willing to take on the lowly paid jobs of supermarket cashiers and salesmen. Just ten years ago it was unheard of to have a Saudi working in a fast-food restaurant or as a cashier at a furniture store. Today I see plenty, from the sleepy-eyed cashier at Ikea to the friendly guy at my local supermarket who always greets me with a smile and chats away.

Of course, much of the change in attitude has come out of sheer economic necessity: We no longer have the wealth that once enabled many of us to stay at home and be non-productive.

Our government and private sector must find ways to keep young Saudis busy, productive and working. It is the idle minds of unemployed youth that are so vulnerable to the seemingly sweet song of hate and death sung by extremists. Parents must also be more involved in the lives of their children, guiding them by example and giving them sound advice that will prevent them from following the path of intolerance and hatred.

We moderate Saudis must speak up now and make our voices heard. The government can’t do it for us, and neither can anyone else. It is after all our own lives and religion that are at stake. The clock is ticking and there is no time to waste!

http://www.arabnews.com/Article.asp?ID=18563" target="_blank">www.arabnews.com”

“Wow.

I wonder what feedback this generated.”

“You think there's a Saudi Spock/thebackpacker?”

“ANYTHING is possible, LOL”

“Pfft. He'll just be demonized by his peers and called a liberal in arabic.”