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COMMENTARY by Kendal Hemphill

Peace on Earth

I t’s working

The terrorism, I mean. You can’t watch the news, or go on Twitter or Facebook, or have a conversation, without hearing one side or the other of how we should be dealing with terrorism. And most of the time these conversations turn into heated debates, with both sides repeating talking points they’ve heard from spokesmen for ‘their’ side.

Our country is being split in two by Islamic Terrorism. Oh, we were already somewhat divided, because of political correctness and people who make a living by creating animosity wherever they can. So we were already on the road to ruin, following those who support racism. But radical Islam is capitalizing on the situation. And it’s working.

On one hand we have those who think, somehow, that if we pass laws against certain pieces of equipment, the terrorists won’t have that equipment anymore, so we’ll be safe. Because criminals can’t break laws.

There are a few problems with this view. We have laws against drugs, assault, theft, rape, speeding, and a million other wrongs. None of those laws has ever prevented a crime, and they never will. Laws only provide for punishment after the fact. You can’t regulate behavior.

We have to bear in mind that all our laws are being ignored by the people who commit these crimes. If we pass more laws, those will be ignored, too. Laws won’t help.

On the other hand we have those who believe the way to combat radical Islamic terrorism is to ban Islam. Just make it illegal to practice Islam in America, and everything will be OK. Well, there are some problems with that view, also.

Because I have lived my entire life in the land of the free and the home of the brave, I have a truncated view of this kind of thing. So I went to my friend, Keith Johnson, and asked him his views about our situation.

Keith is a fellow ministry student at Harding University in Searcy, Arkansas. He grew up in South Africa, in the Islamic faith, with an Islamic family. He has a vested interest in solving our problem, one that is far more personal than mine, since some of his family still follows Islam.

Keith is a Christian and an American citizen, but he’s seen more evil than most of us will encounter in our lives. As a boy growing up, Keith watched radical Islam destroy the lives of people all around him. He said dissidents were often tied up, and an old tire was put around their necks, filled with gasoline, and set on fire. That’s religious persecution.

I asked Keith if banning Islam in America was the answer. He said, “Well, the government in South Africa banned the African National Committee at one time, because of the problems it was causing. Now the ANC is running the country. And it’s destroying the country.”

Not, of course, that banning Islam would be possible. America could no more ban Islam than it could ban shoes, and still claim to support freedom. This country was founded on the principle of religious freedom. But the most telling statement Keith made is the reason why NO ONE should support banning Islam.

He said, “If we banned Islam, it would be a short step to banning Christianity.”

But there’s still more to the problem. Islam is a religion, and we’re all about religious freedom here, or at least we’re supposed to be. But Islam is also a political dogma that destroys the very fabric of any society it inhabits. So I asked Keith how we’re supposed to deal with that. How do we ban the political, while allowing the religious, aspects of Islam.

He said, “You can’t. It’s not possible to separate the political from the religious in Islam. It all goes together.” So, it’s a theocracy.

Actually, I do have a solution to offer. My idea is to trap as many feral hogs as possible in the southern U.S. and turn them loose in the Middle East. We all know hogs can proliferate in any environment, and we could use some relief. And the folks over there would be so busy trying to eradicate the hogs they wouldn’t have time to bother anyone over here.

Yes, that’s a joke, in case you’re wondering. Personally, I don’t think it’s a disrespectful joke, and I’m not trying to be disrespectful, although I’m sure some will take offense.

The question is, are we more offended by a joke about hogs, or by the murder of 14 innocent people over a difference of opinion?

These attacks will continue. The answer is to stop them as soon as possible after they start. Disarming the victims makes them easier victims. The only good news is that, if the bad guys are trying to kill you, it means you’re one of the good guys.

And make no mistake about it, America is still the good guys.

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Email Kendal Hemphill at contactus@fishgame.com

 

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