13 dead so far in airport explosion in Belgium

[yuna628 9,914]

1. islam doesn't have any special power over it's followers, in this sense islam is the exact same as all other religions. the potential for violence is there, because the potential for violence is in EVERYONE.

2. if we alienate innocent people to capture the guilty we are ignoring the only ideal that makes america great (not again, it's the one ideal we still loosely hold on to).

trump's supporters and other reactionary gop typs ignore point 2 because, i'm going to venture, the majority are of a 'good and proper' religion and fail to see the hypocrisy in demanding religious freedom for themselves while also demanding the right to discriminate against other religions, for safety's sake. dakine gave you a well known quote on that one yesterday..

imo religion serves zero purpose on this planet other than to keep us hating each other. all religion is bunk, its dumb - ALL OF IT. the sooner people pull their head from that lump of sand, the sooner we'll be able to put an end to religious extremism.

it might do you some good to listen to an atheist, christians are rarely ever capable of separating their personal salvation from current events affecting large swaths of heathens and blasphemers..

Americans these days honestly have forgotten the reasons why our first people arrived to these shores so long ago.

England was a really fun place back in the day. One religion for all, and if you were not of that state religion, you would be imprisoned, tortured, or outright executed. The point of this of course was to save the 'soul' and protect it's people from heretical religions that were a direct threat to the safety and welfare of the public. You could find evidence of every major religion being persecuted in those times. You see the government thought everyone else was the extremists, and none of their state sanctioned actions were extremist at all.

Of course, most of our early arrivals, still kind of clung to the old ways. They wanted a religious utopia for just their religion. Understandable from a psychological standpoint of course. They believed only their way was to the one true god. And after all the violence towards them, they were motivated to keep themselves pure. Far from having freedom from religion or peaceful co-existence, they wanted a mini-state theocracy. When other refugees of differing religions entered America, this didn't sit well with them. They suddenly forgot the reasons for their persecution of old and became the persecutors. Fear is a remarkable driving force.

Much of these long standing conflicts continued until the Revolutionary War, and though most were united in a common goal to defeat England, the founders well understood that something was going to have to be worked out to be able to maintain any civilized society free from revolution and conflict in the future. But that has been far from perfect of course.. we've had plenty of conflict - due to religion and race. And we're still far from ending that. These days it seems history is repeating itself with renewed vigor - here and abroad. Of course, naysayers against Islam will say the issue of that 'one true god' and 'covert or die' thing is different and deeply ingrained into the culture, but if you look at the context you'll find every single religion at some point suffered or continues to suffer from the same problem. You'll find persons of every religion who have evolved and understood the importance of a civilized society and coexistence. Those persons outweigh the extremist voices in number, but aren't always the most vocal or reported openly... strangely because of fear or other factors.

Religion serves a purpose no doubt, because without it there are a whole host of new fears to contend with. Even in those free of any religion, fear and potential for violence still exists. But let me be clear, those politicians and religious talking heads that speak so much about founding principles of America, and true religions, and Christian evangelical nations -- are not talking about the Constitutional founding principles entirely... they are actually referring to where things began, in the Puritan days -- that single religion one nation dream of utopia (where of course in some of our extremist Islamists have we heard this before?). I know because I've seen it hammered home in textbooks and repeated in churches verbatim. There is no difference between the two - extremism has many forms and comes in many disguises - the 'us' vs 'them'. Violence, fear, hypocrisy and the desire for one to reign supreme over another.

[Merrytooth 5,748]

Goes to country ruled by Islamic fundamentalist absolutist regime. Complains every day about how bad Islamic fundamentalist absolutism is. SMH.

Same as the Muslims -> Go to the western countries. Complains about non-halal food, despises western culture, wants to instill sharia laws.

[smilesammich 10,727]

Americans these days honestly have forgotten the reasons why our first people arrived to these shores so long ago.

England was a really fun place back in the day. One religion for all, and if you were not of that state religion, you would be imprisoned, tortured, or outright executed. The point of this of course was to save the 'soul' and protect it's people from heretical religions that were a direct threat to the safety and welfare of the public. You could find evidence of every major religion being persecuted in those times. You see the government thought everyone else was the extremists, and none of their state sanctioned actions were extremist at all.

Of course, most of our early arrivals, still kind of clung to the old ways. They wanted a religious utopia for just their religion. Understandable from a psychological standpoint of course. They believed only their way was to the one true god. And after all the violence towards them, they were motivated to keep themselves pure. Far from having freedom from religion or peaceful co-existence, they wanted a mini-state theocracy. When other refugees of differing religions entered America, this didn't sit well with them. They suddenly forgot the reasons for their persecution of old and became the persecutors. Fear is a remarkable driving force.

Much of these long standing conflicts continued until the Revolutionary War, and though most were united in a common goal to defeat England, the founders well understood that something was going to have to be worked out to be able to maintain any civilized society free from revolution and conflict in the future. But that has been far from perfect of course.. we've had plenty of conflict - due to religion and race. And we're still far from ending that. These days it seems history is repeating itself with renewed vigor - here and abroad. Of course, naysayers against Islam will say the issue of that 'one true god' and 'covert or die' thing is different and deeply ingrained into the culture, but if you look at the context you'll find every single religion at some point suffered or continues to suffer from the same problem. You'll find persons of every religion who have evolved and understood the importance of a civilized society and coexistence. Those persons outweigh the extremist voices in number, but aren't always the most vocal or reported openly... strangely because of fear or other factors.

Religion serves a purpose no doubt, because without it there are a whole host of new fears to contend with. Even in those free of any religion, fear and potential for violence still exists. But let me be clear, those politicians and religious talking heads that speak so much about founding principles of America, and true religions, and Christian evangelical nations -- are not talking about the Constitutional founding principles entirely... they are actually referring to where things began, in the Puritan days -- that single religion one nation dream of utopia (where of course in some of our extremist Islamists have we heard this before?). I know because I've seen it hammered home in textbooks and repeated in churches verbatim. There is no difference between the two - extremism has many forms and comes in many disguises - the 'us' vs 'them'. Violence, fear, hypocrisy and the desire for one to reign supreme over another.

yes. exactly your points in bold. this is why religion is dangerous. growing up i was taught in church that muslims are terrorists and should die. they're going to hell anyway. this was waaaaay before 911. there was no splicing of good muslims or bad. even with jews, i remember hearing of how they too are going to hell unless they accept jesus but as good christians we must offer our support and guidance since they are god's first chosen people. we don't want to piss god off by dissin his first choice. every single sunday thousands upon thousands of well intentioned people take their children to church to have their minds filled with sick 'end-game, us vs them' propaganda and swear christian extremism isn't an issue in the west. well, that's because american christians haven't yet been given their moment in the sun, their time to shine and show all these ignorant religions what agape love is all about.

[Expat1 971]

Goes to country ruled by Islamic fundamentalist absolutist regime. Complains every day about how bad Islamic fundamentalist absolutism is. SMH.

I'm not complaining. I'm just not importing it back home. I'm strongly advising that you don't import it either.

Edited March 23, 2016 by Expat1

[Expat1 971]

yes. exactly your points in bold. this is why religion is dangerous. growing up i was taught in church that muslims are terrorists and should die. they're going to hell anyway. this was waaaaay before 911. there was no splicing of good muslims or bad. even with jews, i remember hearing of how they too are going to hell unless they accept jesus but as good christians we must offer our support and guidance since they are god's first chosen people. we don't want to piss god off by dissin his first choice. every single sunday thousands upon thousands of well intentioned people take their children to church to have their minds filled with sick 'end-game, us vs them' propaganda and swear christian extremism isn't an issue in the west. well, that's because american christians haven't yet been given their moment in the sun, their time to shine and show all these ignorant religions what agape love is all about.

They already had their moment in the sun, which is how that whole "congress shall make no law" thing started

[smilesammich 10,727]

They already had their moment in the sun, which is how that whole "congress shall make no law" thing started

no no, modern day christians need a real make or break moment to truly shine. they could have taken it with 911. they failed miserably.

and congress shall make no law yet every single president has been christian, how convenient and comfortable.

Edited March 23, 2016 by elitesthuglib

[Dakine10 5,452]

I'm not complaining. I'm just not importing it back home. I'm strongly advising that you don't import it either.

If you want to contribute to ending the fanaticism, start by not supporting the guy who pays your tax free oil bucks.

[Umka36 781]

no no, modern day christians need a real make or break moment to truly shine. they could have taken it with 911. they failed miserably.

and congress shall make no law yet every single president has been christian, how convenient and comfortable.

Well at least we can say that not every US President has been a white man now (even though you could argue that Obama is half white). Be glad that the Presidency is open for all persons (if they meet the criteria), not just white man.

"No Person except a natural born Citizen, or a Citizen of the United States, at the time of the Adoption of this Constitution, shall be eligible to the Office of President; neither shall any Person be eligible to that Office who shall not have attained to the Age of thirty five Years, and been fourteen Years a Resident within the United States."

[ExPatty 503]

So nothing special about Islam inciting violence even though almost all of the world's terrorism related deaths are conducted by Muslims, yet they are only 1/4 of the world's population. And the examples of seemingly regular guys going off the deep end after indoctrination hold no sway.

This view basically shows the limits of a general equivalency diploma.

[smilesammich 10,727]

So nothing special about Islam inciting violence even though almost all of the world's terrorism related deaths are conducted by Muslims, yet they are only 1/4 of the world's population. And the examples of seemingly regular guys going off the deep end after indoctrination hold no sway.

This view basically shows the limits of a general equivalency diploma.

why do you think islam has special powers?

i don't know how long ago you went to school, but religious indoctrination wasn't covered on my ged. a swing and a miss, smart one.

[smilesammich 10,727]

Well at least we can say that not every US President has been a white man now (even though you could argue that Obama is half white). Be glad that the Presidency is open for all persons (if they meet the criteria), not just white man.

"No Person except a natural born Citizen, or a Citizen of the United States, at the time of the Adoption of this Constitution, shall be eligible to the Office of President; neither shall any Person be eligible to that Office who shall not have attained to the Age of thirty five Years, and been fourteen Years a Resident within the United States."

and look at how often he's referred to as a muslim, or terrorists are his 'pals'.

[OnMyWayID 1,489]

and congress shall make no law yet every single president has been christian, how convenient and comfortable.

Its a conspiracy!

I had no idea there were so many Episcopalians

[smilesammich 10,727]

Its a conspiracy!

I had no idea there were so many Episcopalians

we like to think of ourselves as super diverse, which i guess is why we come up with some many different names for the same damn belief system.

the conspiracy pretty much begins and ends with the dinosaurs. just ask ben carson. or satan. whoever answers the call first.

[Dakine10 5,452]

So nothing special about Islam inciting violence even though almost all of the world's terrorism related deaths are conducted by Muslims, yet they are only 1/4 of the world's population. And the examples of seemingly regular guys going off the deep end after indoctrination hold no sway.

This view basically shows the limits of a general equivalency diploma.

We are shocked, repulsed and ready to go to war when ISIS beheads a captive. And yet we support a brutal Saudi dictatorship that beheaded 150 of it's own citizens last year, most of them for petty crimes. We support a government that routinely uses torture to elicit confessions. You can't condone terror and then be surprised that it exists.

[ExPatty 503]

We are shocked, repulsed and ready to go to war when ISIS beheads a captive. And yet we support a brutal Saudi dictatorship that beheaded 150 of it's own citizens last year, most of them for petty crimes. We support a government that routinely uses torture to elicit confessions. You can't condone terror and then be surprised that it exists.

Saudi is a hell hole and a good example of highly Islamic countries existing either in a perpetual state of war or with the citizenry kept under an authoritarian boot. No America told them to hang thieves from cranes. They came up with that all by themselves.

Poland announces today it will reneg on an agreement to take refugees, in light of yesterday's attack.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-03-23/poland-abandons-pledge-to-shelter-refugees-after-brussels-blasts

Good for them. Europe has no control over this situation at all.