I wandered across this post recently, on September 11th, where some party goers toast Death to the Wahhabbis! A more ambitious explanation of this line of thinking was offered by Monica of th'inkwell.
Contradictory? I know.
"What we did on Saturday night was right. We identified a broad class as our enemies and toasted to the triumph of our ideas. Anyone who understands the zealotry of the fundamentalists we are battling knows that the only viable way to stop most of these people is their death. We are at war, very much entrenched in it although it’s a type that Western civilization has rarely seen before. There may not be trenches and tanks, there may not be a convenient front line to send people to and sit back to watch, but there is no mistaking the fact that the battles are ongoing and that one side holds all the passion for the fight.
Our enemy has no qualms in toasting to our deaths. They have no concern in planning the enslavement of those who survive, binding them with superstitious nonsense masquerading as law. I don’t intend to hand civilization to these barbarians on a silver platter with my apologies for enjoying my lifestyle and my freedoms."
-- Monica White
Monica's line of thinking is something that I am not entirely opposed to. I support a muscular foreign policy. I don't need to "understand" why fanatics kill children on purpose.
However, in the back of my mind I hear this jewish fellow saying something like "Love your neighbor, that's easy to do, try loving your enemy."
What does that look like in the context of someone who is willing to murder you to make a political point?
I'm not sure. It reminds me a of a prayer I wrote out some time ago as a way of dealing with the uncertainty of living life in the post-September-11 world. The prayer below is targeted specifically at the terrorists and those who support them.
The Terrorist's Blessing
May all your plans be thwarted,
May your comrades, aquaintances, wives,
children, fathers and mothers become informants,
May your luck run out at the worst possible time,
May your opponents hearts, plans, pursuits be pure,
May your banks transfer your money
to the victims of your terror,
May your shoe bombs, suicide belts,
and devices of destruction utterly fail
wounding only the bombmakers,
May the police and intelligence organizations
have the lucky breaks and may they act on them,
May the aim of those hunting you be true,
May your fellow airline, train, and bus passengers
be composed of brave, strong NFL lineman
and angry rugby players,
May you die of old age,
May all your enemies die of natural causes
in extreme old age,
May your minds change,
May your women and children be educated and wiser than you,
May your conspirators be brought to justice,
May you see justice running down like a mighty river,
May your countries be filled with freedom of thought,
conscience, and belief for all,
May your grandchildren's peace and prosperity
eclipse your imagination,
May you shake your white head in disbelief
at the lies you once preached and believed,
May you experience peace both now
and when you meet your maker.
Do I contradict myself? Very well then I contradict myself, (I am large, I contain multitudes.) --Walt Whitman
