Fanatics

WOW! Religious fanatics are really making the headlines. I for one understand a deep belief in God, but Islam takes the cake. Misplaced luggage apparently is to blame in the death of 345 Muslim pilgrims. http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,181546,00.html

All religions have their own set of rituals, but how fanatical do you have to be to literally kill people to throw rocks at a pillar? I am beginning to believe that Muslims just like to have weapons in their hands, AK-47’s, Rocks, IED’s, Semetec belts etc, etc, etc. This is not apparently the first time this has happened either.

Religion is about life, when you boil it down. How to live your life, how to have everlasting life, how to effect the lives of others. To die defending your religion is one thing, but to die for a ritual is just plain lacking in the brains department.

European Soccer has suffered many tragedies with fanatics (FANS for short) doing a multitude of stupid stunts ending in deaths. People need to wake up. No action by a sports team should warrant the death of many people for sake of winning or loosing. To die for a sports team also show a severe lacking in the brains department.

Americans at the malls the day after Thanksgiving. I have seen many instances where the pushing and shoving become so bad that people are hurt and or killed. Wake up people, a sale is not a good reason to die! Throwing stones at a pillar is not a good reason to die! Your favorite sports team is not a good reason to die!

Race Fanatics are the worst. White racist and black racist alike. There is no difference between the two. Al Sharpton simply does not grasp the concepts of the people he touts the most. Mr. Duke of the KKK does not grasp the concept of Freedom and equality.

Good ethical values can surely be based on religious beliefs, but to loose site of respecting people because they disagree with you is seriously wrong in my book. Respect of others does not mean that you have to loose your place in line either. We should not respect others more than we respect ourselves. You want true equality amongst ethnical groups, then EVERYONE needs to simply learn simple respect of others and their ways. Do you have to accept or believe in their way to respect them? NO! I for one do not believe that homosexuality is proper. That does not mean that I cannot respect a person even when they are homosexual. I just don’t have to agree with them.

Somewhere along the line respect has been misconstrued into believe and agreement. To respect a person DOES NOT imply agreement. I respect Sen. Ted Kennedy for his life-long commitment to public service. I have yet to agree with anything that has spieled from his lips.

I respect Martin Luther King Jr. Not because he was black but because of the core values he displayed. He had no intention of making the black community a master race, he was striving for equality. Equality means respect. I believe his words were “I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.”

Content of Character. Not their religion, not their skin color, not their sexual preference, not their abortion beliefs, not their political association.

And when all people are treated with respect and dignity then

“Let freedom ring. And when this happens, and when we allow freedom ring — when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God's children — black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics - will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual: "Free at last! Free at last! Thank God Almighty, we are free at last!"

So as the country prepares to recognize this man for his traits, character, and core values, please look at his speech in whole http://douglassarchives.org/king_b12.htm and see for yourself what respect means.

You want to be fanatical about something. Good, start by being a fanatical good parent. Be fanatical about teaching your kids the difference between right and wrong. Teach your kids and yourself how to respect all of their fellow humans. Teach and learn respect for the rights and liberties we cherish (and are quickly loosing) in this country. Teach and maintain a core set of ethical values that allow for the co-existence of mankind.