tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7133703.post113968419455572665..comments2024-03-07T07:35:06.698-05:00Comments on A Healthy Fear of Botulism: More Cartoonery BuffooneryDead Serioushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01072762590664103691noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7133703.post-1140199128799739862006-02-17T12:58:00.000-05:002006-02-17T12:58:00.000-05:00I can hardly believe that column came from David B...I can hardly believe that column came from David Brooks, but I also agree with DaveK.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7133703.post-1140190395831316872006-02-17T10:33:00.000-05:002006-02-17T10:33:00.000-05:00Thanks for posting the article... a good thought ...Thanks for posting the article... a good thought piece!<BR/><BR/>Unfortunately, the author gets it pretty much right until the very last sentence: "...I do understand your panic."<BR/><BR/>Brooks hits so wide of the mark here that it is almost funny. The problem is that the islamists are NOT in a panic. Panic is not even in their thought process, as far as these issues are concerned. They are true-believers, who are absolutely convinced that theirs is the one, only, and absolute way to please Allah. They believe that Islam is destined to be the one and only true religeon of the world, and that once the world is united under Islam the end of times (including judgement day) will come.<BR/><BR/>Some of the islamists I have met are very smart. You may think that this is incompatible with the positions they take, but believe me, it is obviously not. The problem is that they think differently than most of us in the west. They have been well educated in their religeon. They have excellent memories, as they have been trained at learning through rote memorization. They have excellent debating skills, and can quickly develop arguments to counter any points they oppose. But they are often not well trained in what we would call logical thought. They will believe the wildest things, simply because someone who is an authority is reputed to have said that such-and-such is so. And, finally, rightly or wrongly, they have a strong sense of destiny.<BR/><BR/>So, no, they are not in a panic over inroads of democracy in the middle east. They are simply angry. They have been taught from their earliest days that the evil west is the source of all their problems. They have been taught since birth that the Jews have a vast and powerful conspiracy to control the world. But they also believe that Islam is destined to rule the world, and that all we have experienced since the beginning of time is only a little blip, compared to what will come after the rightous are all taken up into paradise.<BR/><BR/>It's a fools game to think you can understand the mind of an islamist, unless you happen to be one. Their thought paradigm is truly alien, and perhaps unknowable, to the rest of us. <BR/><BR/>Just my $.02<BR/>DRKAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7133703.post-1140182884637566762006-02-17T08:28:00.000-05:002006-02-17T08:28:00.000-05:00Thank you! A fantastic article!Thank you! A fantastic article!Muslihoonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14849398517235135273noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7133703.post-1140163281755443692006-02-17T03:01:00.000-05:002006-02-17T03:01:00.000-05:00You know, as in, where did your site go?You know, as in, where did your site go?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7133703.post-1140163168560318402006-02-17T02:59:00.000-05:002006-02-17T02:59:00.000-05:00Dude. A little photoshopping and you could be Alla...Dude. A little photoshopping and you could be Allah.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7133703.post-1140152896605597332006-02-17T00:08:00.000-05:002006-02-17T00:08:00.000-05:00That is brilliant! Really really brilliant.That is brilliant! <BR/><BR/>Really really brilliant.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com