The cartoons heard ’round the world.

Okay, I admit it. It’s nice to see them burning someone else’s flag for a change.



Is anyone really shocked by displays like this? I mean, really? How many times have you been watching the news only to see a bunch of people from the Middle East burning a flag. Wasn’t it the Palestinians who were out there shooting off guns, celebrating and burning American flags on September 11th?



I even came across a site which seems to be entirely devoted to all the flag burnings of the American flag (and there are many). So, the Muslim world is mad at the West - what else is new?

Like, the very people who are the most upset by this, your zealous Islamic fundamentalists, what, they were particularly enchanted with us to begin with? I mean, what are they going to do? Fly jet planes into buildings? Blow themselves up? Kill innocents? Destroy other religions’ sacred sites?

Oh, wait.

That’s right... they’ve done all those things.

So, excuse me if I am not impressed by their righteous outrage.

I probably would be more concerned if there was a long history of friendship and tolerance between our societies. Yet, it doesn’t seem as if that’s the case. If people are offended, that’s bad and unfortunate. In this instance they deserve at minimum an apology but, when you start threatening people with violence and death, well... to put it mildly, fuck you.

Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck you.

Now, I’?m not talking about people who are adherents of Islam, people who find comfort and solace in their faith. I do however have an enormous problem with anyone who uses their religion to hold themselves out as better than the rest of us. Be they Muslim, Christian or Jewish (or whatever religion you want to choose). The thing I fail to understand, the thing that escapes me whenever I read or hear of something like this boils down to one simple fact: If these people are so holy, so devote, so pious, so humbled and in awe of their chosen deity, how could they possibly take it upon themselves to speak for such a divine entity?

You remember the old Ken-L-Ration commercials? My dog is better than your dog and all that went the tune. Just swipe out the word dog for the word God (cap "G", G) and it gives you a sense of where this whole argument stems from...

My God is better than your God,
My God’s better than yours...
My God’s better ’cause it’s my religion yeah,
My God’s better than yours!

It’s great when religion makes a person feel better about themselves, about their place in the world but, is it so necessary to feel better about yourself by feeling superior to everyone else who doesn’t share your beliefs? I guess, if I am going to speak about respecting others’ views, I should take into account how it really is sacriligeous to create images of the Prophet Mohammed. Under that measure I can understand why people are upset and acknowledge their right to be upset. Yet, there are a myriad number of ways for them to voice their displeasure.

Further, in some instances, what are probably considered the most profane of the cartoons have views which are only confirmed by the tenor of the demonstrations and the character of the rhetoric raised in opposition.

Like the old saw goes, “Can’t we all just get along?”

Maybe, I’m a bit obtuse about the whole thing. I just find it somehow interesting that the three western monotheastic religions all share common origins but, still use their differences as the excuse to belittle one and other instead of focusing on those things which join them to each other.

It’s just very, very sad. If anything it reinforces how far we have yet to go before obtaining any kind of divine wisdom and paradise for us all.