Friday, September 15, 2006

Am I missing something?

"Anyone who describes Islam as a religion as intolerant encourages violence," Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Tasnim Aslam said.

A quote from this article.
Encourages Violence?

In this instance, the definition of intolerance:

–noun -lack of toleration; unwillingness or refusal to tolerate or respect contrary opinions or beliefs, persons of different races or backgrounds, etc.

What ever happened to debate? Why must everything resolve to the threat of violence so quickly? Obviously the media is fanning the flames for its own gain, and it LOVES this hypocritical and idiotic quote. Media strives for the zero-sum game, and continues to over simplify things in order to make all seem sensational.

The Pope is arguing that the spread of religion through violence is wrong. Jihad exists, and that can not be denied, but I also know that all of my Muslim friends are not terrorists, and are incredibly kind and endearing. Yes the Crusades did take place, but that was during a time of mass-ignorance. Is there a resurgence in ignorance? If so, it's probably due to mass media. Not only are they bombarding us with vapid video bits, but they are doing so in such a way (read: 20 second to 2 minutes news bites) that is actually negatively impacting our intelligence.

Those who threaten violence as a solution are truly desperate, and those who promote violence for profit are despicable. The media needs to stop focusing on the minority view, even though it is the most "entertaining."