History is inclined to repeat

History is inclined to repeat

October 11, 2001

Straight Talk
Muriel Sluyter

Greetings, Gentle Reader,

Human beings come in all sizes, shapes and types, some good, some bad. History teaches us that they always have, and they always will.

A friend has explained that some people are extreme bullies; their abuses can be stopped only by someone strong enou-gh to stand up to them They are susceptible to neither reasoning nor persuasion. Some are convinced that they are justified in their actions; others don’t care, so long as no one can stop them. We Americans will soon become acquainted with both types.

On some islands of the Philippines, Muslim terrorists are killing everyone who is not Islamic. In Indonesia, a nation of some 1,500 islands, Muslims are slaughtering as many Christians as they can, especially in Timor. In many African countries, militant Islam is on the march, killing, mutilating and enslaving all non-Muslims.

A Muslim man, trained in Britain and then in Texas, where he received hand-to-hand, live-fire combat training from ex-Navy Seals and other ex-Special Forces Americans, says killing Christians is an act of worship.

He admits to his interviewer, George Thomas, that it is hard to kill a human being, so he always reminds himself that by so doing, he is worshipping Allah.

On both sides of my family, my ancestors came to America from the various British Isles to escape being murdered because of their religion. That was between three and four hundred years ago. Here we are in he year 2001, fighting the age-old battle.

We have lived in relative peace in this wonderful country of ours for a long time. Now it appears that we will have to fight for our right to be free Americans, just as our forefathers did. Can we do it?

Those who would kill us think we are too soft, too divided to protect ourselves. They are neither soft nor divided; they are tough, and they are focused. They think they are serving their God, and perhaps they are, but whatever their reasoning, they cannot be dissuaded from their chosen course.

So, what are we made of? Can we stand up to an anthrax attack? Floridians may have to do so. At the time of this writing, it appears that an ex-employee from a near Eastern nation may have infected other workers with anthrax bacteria.

We are being told that anthrax is difficult to spread, which is on our side. Remember that it spreads from animal to animal, because they live in bacteria-friendly environments. Humans don’t live in barns and pastures, and we wash our floors, hands and utensils. That’s why humans usually don’t contract anthrax. Yes, it is deadly but most likely it will not spread from that particular site.

Many Americans have forgotten how to be more loyal to their fellowman than to their ideas and beliefs, no matter how twisted. Considering the observably destructive power of evil belief systems, this is a good time to realign ourselves and being to see other Americans as fellow strugglers in America’s battles, rather than opponents to be conquered.

One final note: To those who fear for Afghani civilians, they are so secure in their conviction that the U.S. is targeting only military facilities, that they are watching the air strikes from atop their roofs. Our guys had better be good shots!