There is a reason for indifference to the suffering of Christians in Iraq and elsewhere in the Mid East and it is common to both Democrats and Republicans: No-one wants to offend Muslims. The reason why they don't want to offend Muslims is approximately the same reason why they don't want to offend black people, the response would be violence. This is the cold, sober truth. Maybe it is time to say "to hell with it, if they respond with violence, then they should suffer the consequences." Of course, this is more-or-less moot when a president is pro-Islam, as was George W Bush and as is Barack Hussein. In that case the greater good is to placate Islam and sacrifice Christians -or sacrifice Jews or Hindus, etc Still another reason is ignorance of religion and the history of religion, for which there are several culprits, starting with the idiotic mantra that education reduces to STEM and nothing else really matters. But among the uses of Comparative Religion and religious history is that such courses give you information about what exists, about real people, and who they are and where they live. Each in their own way, both George W and Hussein Obama, were/ are uninformed and ill-prepared intellectually for their responsibilities. In my opinion anyone who voted for EITHER president deceived themselves and led themselves down a garden path. For your information I voted for neither one of them because their limitations and stupidity and ignorance and muddle-headedness was obvious to me from the start. I regarded Bush as a complete incompetent all along and never said otherwise. As for Obama, my view at all times has been that "Obamania," a sort of religious fervor on his behalf, to the point of political messianism, was ridiculous and basically sick. It certainly made me sick and what also made me sick was seeing so many otherwise smart people getting suckered into this sickness. But hey, why study religion? Here is another reason, you stand a much greater chance of understanding religious phenomena even when it exists in political form and not setting yourself up to worship a false messiah. Or in the case of George W, to not vote for a complete naif who, when asked who his favorite political philosopher was, answered "Jesus." What the hell? In addition to being mindless and a case of grandstanding, it showed everyone, instantly, how poorly educate he really is. Of course, in retrospect, he almost looks good in comparison to the totally amateurish, brain damaged chief executive we now must endure. Barack Hussein is Jimmy Carter except that he is black Billy ------------------------------------------ USA Today Kirsten Powers: Obama's inattention to Iraqi Christians Kirsten Powers 6:56 p.m. EDT August 13, 2014 White House not addressing their persecution equally.
It's starting to seem as if the Obama White House operates on a time delay. In the case of Iraq's religious minorities, the results have been deadly. On June 10, the barbaric extremists called the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) _captured_ (http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/insurgents-seize-iraqi-city-of-mosul-as-troops-flee/2014/06/10/21061e87-8fcd-4ed3-bc94-0e309a f0a674_story.html) the city of Mosul. By mid-July, they _issued_ (http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2014/07/last-remaining-christians-flee-iraq -mosul-201472118235739663.html) an edict to the Christians who remained to "convert, leave or be killed." The White House said _nothing_ (http://search.whitehouse.gov/search?affiliate=wh&query=iraq+christians&submit.x=0&submit.y=0&submit=Search&form_id=usase arch_box) . Beginning on July 22, Rep. Frank Wolf, R-Va., took to the House floor six times to _plead_ (http://wolf.house.gov/issues/christianity-in-iraq#.U-kfVPldWSr) for attention from the Obama administration as a genocide threatened Iraq. _Not a word_ (http://search.whitehouse.gov/search?affiliate=wh&query=iraq+christians&submit.x=0&submit.y=0&submit=Search&form_id=usasearch_box) from the president. On July 24, a resolution _sponsored_ (http://fortenberry.house.gov/news-releases/fortenberry-urges-immediate-international-humanitarian-intervention-for -displaced-iraqi-communities/) by Reps. Anna Eshoo, D-Calif., and Jeff Fortenberry, R-Neb., "_condemning_ (http://fortenberry.house.gov/news-releases/house-passes-fortenberryled-resolution-condemning-persecution-of-iraqi-chris tians-religious-minorities/) the severe persecution (of) Christians and other ethnic and religious minority communities … in Iraq" was introduced on the floor of the House. It _called_ (http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/BILLS-113hconres110ih/pdf/BILLS-113hconres110ih.pdf) for the administration to "develop and implement an immediate, coordinated and sustained humanitarian intervention." On Aug. 1, the House of Representatives passed a _resolution_ (http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/BILLS-113hres683eh/pdf/BILLS-113hres683eh.pdf) sponsored by Rep. Juan Vargas, D-Calif., calling for _protection_ (https://beta.congress.gov/bill/113th-congress/house-resolution/683/text) of religious minorities in Iraq. White House wake-up It wasn't until Aug. 5 that the administration acknowledged the crisis in Iraq. It was done in the form of a _statement_ (http://usun.state.gov/briefing/statements/230260.htm) , condemning attacks on religious minorities, by the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, Samantha Power. By last Thursday, the largely Christian towns of Qaraqosh, Tal Kayf, Bartella and Karamlesh had _fallen_ (http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2014/08/07/Witnesses-ISIS-seizes-Iraq-s-largest-Christian-town.html) to the Islamic State. Finally, later that night — and two full months after the crisis began — President Obama _announced_ (http://www.whitehouse.gov/photos-and-video/video/2014/08/07/president-obama-makes-statement-iraq#transcript) airstrikes in Iraq and for the first time acknowledged that Christians are being driven from the homeland of their faith. But the Christians garnered a passing mention, while the religious minority of Yazidis seems to be what moved the president to act. An Iraqi Christian leader lamented to me that his people would have to convert to get the administration's attention. Homeless Christians The Yazidis deserve protection and humanitarian aid, but so do the Christians who number in the _hundreds of thousands_ (http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/priest-from-nineveh-christianity-is-finished-in-iraq-70940/) in Iraq. While the Yazidis received air drops of food and water, nothing has been dropped to the Christians who are _homeless_ (http://www.aleteia.org/en/world/article/christians-feel-abandoned-in-spite-of-obamas-action-in-iraq-585 3293620232192?page=2) and in dire need of food and water. Each day that passes is a matter of life and death. Why the indifference from the administration? The disinterest in the suffering of Iraqi Christians has been a bipartisan travesty. During the Bush administration, nearly a million Christians _fled_ (http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/07/09/us-iraq-security-chrisitianity-idUSKBN0FE1L320140709) Iraq in fear for their lives. Ironically, it was Sen. Barack Obama who sent the Bush State Department _a letter in 2007_ (http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/CREC-2008-01-22/html/CREC-2008-01-22-pt1-PgS86-2.ht m) inquiring about this persecution. Incredibly, the Bush administration _denied_ (http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/CREC-2008-01-22/html/CREC-2008-01-22-pt1-PgS86-2.htm) there was a problem. Rep. Eshoo, a Chaldean Catholic whose father fled religious persecution in Iran, told me, "This issue has been viewed with a real Western eye and a lack of understanding and appreciation of who is there and how important these religious minorities are. In the case of the Christians, these are the oldest Christians in the world. They represent part of the glue for a diverse society if there is to be one there. This whole issue represents an American value of diversity and protection of minorities." Someone please tell the president. -- -- Centroids: The Center of the Radical Centrist Community <[email protected]> Google Group: http://groups.google.com/group/RadicalCentrism Radical Centrism website and blog: http://RadicalCentrism.org --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Centroids: The Center of the Radical Centrist Community" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
