How Could This Be?

2 PARAGRAPHS 4 LIBERTY: #144

Recently some militants set off a bomb in a crowded mosque in the Sinai Peninsula in Egypt during Friday services, killing many people, and then machine-gunned many others as they attempted to flee. How could this be? Who could claim that any god would countenance, much less demand, such barbarous acts? The only answer I can fathom is that these militants had been callously inculcated with narrow, radical and warped views, while continually being cut off from other viewpoints for a long time.

And what is the antidote? To the degree there is one, it is to be able freely to travel, read, compare and contrast, think, dream, question, criticize and explain. So the antidote is Liberty, which includes an education exposing people to alternative points of view and a Justice System that holds people responsible for their actions. Of course, all societies will always have demented people like Charles Manson to lead others astray, but the best way to keep them from infecting others is to break into the cocoon of hate by encouraging Liberty. In addition, understanding the two old sayings that “The most dangerous people in the world are those without hope,” and “There can be no Peace in a Land without Justice,” the antidote also is a system of Justice and Equal Opportunity for All, which means jobs and a way for people to better themselves – particularly the young. These are long-range remedies, so obviously civilized society must take some short term steps for protection against such barbarity. But we must also not lose sight of the big picture, and continue to pursue the cause of Liberty.

** Recently, I read about a particular gasoline station in Gauteng, South Africa that posts signs daily on a blackboard visible from the street.  And they are so interesting that many people drive out of their way just to see them each day.  So for the next few editions, some of those sayings will appear in these editions of “2 Paragraphs.”  Here is the first one:  “Be the person you needed when you were young.”