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Feb. 27, 2007 Picture this: A drawing of airplanes dropping dozens of bombs. At the bottom of the page, fleeing from this death threat are small figures, all in turbans, fleeing for their lives, flailing their arms. There is a letter attached to the artwork, a caption if you will. "We are praying for you and saying the Rosary in class for you today.". The Rosary? In class? Who made this picture? Who wrote the words? You look at it some more. You say the words to yourself, maybe try them outloud. Is the artist someone with hate in their heart for Muslims and Arabs? Or someone who hates those trying to kill Muslims and Arabs? Like most of life, it's all in the context. Who is this Artist? Why, it's Angela, age 9. She's a member of the third grade class at Our Lady Of Peace Catholic school. Where is this artwork being shown? It's not in an exhibit. Angela, and the rest of her classmates, sent a whole packful of pictures to the men at a prison camp in Kandahar Afghanistan. It was for the US military men. An interrogation officer opened it. I am reading a book called The Interrogators, Inside the secret war against Al-Queda. The authors write the words without editorializing.. Nevertheless, I see consternation in them. Our Lady Of Peace? Catholic school, a religious institution where Jesus' message is taught? You know, the one about:God telling us to love one another just as He has loved us. Other pictures arrive, from children whose background we don't know.. We don't know what, if any, religious affiliation they have. The author just tells us about all the mail they receive from children. It is mail meant to reassure and support. These crayon colored drawings come with instructions: "Go get the bad men!" I hope you kill them all!" Some are kindlier. "I hope you come home safely. ' But all show soldiers shooting at the bad men wearing beards. The characterization has worked for these children. They have been indoctrinated well. Bad men, Beards. Turbans. Kill them all. Why does this sound familiar to me? Oh I know, that's what I see and hear on the TV when they show Iranians and Iraqis protesting. "Death to America." "Kill the Americans." A major Fatwah (or legal opinion) states:. "The ruling to kill the Americans and their allies--civilians and military--is an individual duty for every Muslim who can do it in any country in which it is possible to do it,..." When photographed and interviewed many of the little children scream and say the same thing. That's what they hear and see all around them. Why wouldn't they yell it too? We have lost our way. We teach our children not to discriminate as to whom the enemy is but to discriminate. Period. It makes us no better than the other side. But we haven't killed anyone you say. It was Al-Queda. Yes. That's true. But we have killed over 100,000 Iraqis, most innocent men, women and children to get at a few. ironically the few who by all accounts, are not in Iraq but in Afghanistan. Those few who are not all turbaned or bearded. Let's remember. Whatever our beliefs and in no matter in Whom (or whom) or what teaching the littlest of our society to hate in toto only leads to the unfettered continuation of hatred and prejudice. For most of us the generations upon generations of haters in the Middle East is a sorrow to see and a thing not to be envied. Let's not have that said about us in future decades and centuries.. ------------ About the author: Ms. Levy is the author of A PAINED LIFE, a chronic pain journey. An excerpt can be found here. Email: leejcaroll@aol.com Comment on this article here! ------------ All articles are EXCLUSIVE to Useless-Knowledge.com. Please link to this article rather than copying and pasting it onto your site (which would be unauthorized and illegal). |
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