[KevinTheOmnivore]

Originally Posted by mburbank

Kev; you just argued that the 'dark ages' premiss of the peice is faulty since they used tech to disseminate terror.

Um...no. You are finding the equivalence between bombs and swords. You are saying one would use the latter due to a lack of access to resources and money. I'm telling you that this is untrue. The brutality of the act isn't a coincidence, it's intentional.

The author's argument isn't that radical muslims really want to ride around on horses again and wield swords. It's a psychological state of mind, and a particular way of life. Beheading with the sword is a symbol of that regressive thought, and to call it regressive and evil (compared to ourselves) is perfectly alright in my book. So self-congratulation to me!

"Max, I know you don't see any difference between them and us."
-Kevin the Soul Gazer

I'm always intrigued when you 'know' things about me I don't.

Excuse me, but weren't you the one who said "In certain rich parts of the world, we have moved our barbarity to less viceral, more removed practices, because our technology and economy allow it"?

Are you not equating us with them? Perhaps I'm wrong and you could clarify things for me.

I think making women live in bags is reppelent and cutting off heads is worse. I don't think any of that means that I need to find our own use of weapons of mass destruction, and weapons likes land mines, cluster bombs and white phosphorus, all of which were designed to induce terror, is acceptable. I find it upsetting when open, liberal societies that pride themselves on how civilzed they are engage in barbarity, because I want the differences between 'us' and 'them' to be crystal clear.

It never will be crystal clear. it never has, and it never will. That doesn't mean there isn't a great big gap between what we do and what they do. Again, from the tone of this paragraph, you seem to disagree with that. Perhaps you can clarify.

I also think it's worth concidering the amount of extremely brutal killing our liberal open society has engaged in during the modern era. Jesus, perhaps my favorite political philosipher, once spoke of motes, beams and eyes. I do not think the way to peace lies along the road which is all about good (us) and evil (them).

Ok, let's concider. What relevance does (insert bad thing America did that's like terrorism) have in comparison to beheading journalists, executing those who pray differently, and enslaving women? If what we've done is just as horrible, what steps do we take now? Do we sit in paralysis over what terrible people we are, or do we stop the enemy?

Is there an enemy, Max?