I went to see the movie Syrianna tonight. I know it got slammed by many critics, but I liked it. Both for the way it presented its message and for the message it presented. It was also good to see a Deep Space Nine actor finally get some real work…………..
Plus there are some great lines in the movie. Particularly this comment on where the Arabs are and where they are going:
“You want to know what the business world thinks of you? We think a hundred years ago you were living out here in tents in the desert chopping each others heads off, and that’s exactly where you’re gonna be in another hundred. So yes, on behalf of my firm, I accept your money.”
The movie made me think of something I read in the paper. Not that I am a fan of Ann Coulter, because I’m not, but she did say something I agreed with.
The belief that Islam forbids portrayals of Muhammad is recently acquired. Back when Muslims created things, rather than blowing them up, they made paintings, frescoes, miniatures and prints of Muhammad. But apparently the Quran is like the Constitution: It’s a “living document,” capable of sprouting all-new provisions at will. Muslims ought to start claiming the Quran also prohibits indoor plumbing, to explain their lack of it. Other interpretations of the Quran forbid images of humans or animals, which makes even a child’s coloring book blasphemous. That’s why the Taliban blew up those priceless Buddhist statues, bless their innocent, peace-loving little hearts.
Of course it has been a long time since Muslims actually created anything useful, maybe the last useful book they created was the Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam. Then along came oil, and as it says in Syrianna, ” Now they get to wear clean white sheets and stand around. As if to make the statement that I don’t have to work”
No, now they just pay Filipinos, Indonesians , and Sri Lankans and guys like me to do it for them.
I also thought the movie made a great point about how Muslim schools brainwash children……..
All of this in turn made me think about the cartoons. Now Muslims seem to have a selective memory about offensive things, being offended by a stupid cartoon, but not getting offended by killing defenseless people. The problem is the more we push the issue, the loonier they get.
However because the controversy is so brainless, it practically begs you to escalate it by printing more and stronger images and slowly but surely spiral down the road of trashiness till you have Andrew Dice Clay on HBO saying, “Here’s to Mohammed, sucking my…….”
You know you should not do it, but it just makes you feel so good to kick dirt in the Islamics faces. And so we do. And the more offended they get, the more you want to kick even more dirt in their faces. Because their devotion to this albatross of a religion is so impossible to understand.
Because what is hard for us to accept is that these morons actually listen to what is said by their clerics. Or at least they pretend they do. Personally I think they just go through the rituals because it makes the feel like they are believers with out studying what it is they are worshipping. Which makes it even more enjoyable to attack them. Even their sinning is scripted (“Allah does not look on Bahrain….”- I wonder why?)
As noted by the Economist:
Shouldn’t the right to free speech be tempered by a sense of responsibility? Of course. Most people do not go about insulting their fellows just because they have a right to. The media ought to show special sensitivity when the things they say might stir up hatred or hurt the feelings of vulnerable minorities. But sensitivity cannot always ordain silence. Protecting free expression will often require hurting the feelings of individuals or groups, even if this damages social harmony. The Muhammad cartoons may be such a case.
Especially if it makes us feel better………
Thanks to Samantha Burns!
