Dim(ly)light

uhm...warrior, i can kind of see what you are trying to say. knowledge is power-power over people and their knowledge. but i dont know how that comforts my fears. but then i think what i fear, the ugly warfare, is not what i think it is-islam, the religion. but then i dont understand the bit about political islam yet so clearly. political islam to me does not seem like a poilitical ideology that a group of people can practice. it, to me, seems an opportunistic means to an aggressive faith.

Freedom Humbug

the generation of fear gets accomplished due to a few key factors:
alienation, darkness, censorship over channels of communication and a false sense of security. we are being trapped into the shackles of 'freedom, justice and equality' by those who back-stab us so that we may be one of the millions of bricks that form the foundation to their social order. we observe through history of the shifting nature of the policies of the arabic and western states. it is time for us to wake up to this great impending envelope of fear that binds us with illusions of social prosperity and a life of dignity.

Political Islam

the inevitability of political islam becomes quite clear from the history of its political past. in the recent times, it may often come across as an empty, violent response to the imperialist economic cultures in the Western parts of the world. But then, you realize it is an open, bloody response to imperialist cultures everywhere-kashmir, baluchistan, balkans, african coast, western europe., etc.

http://www.loompanics.com/Articles/PoliticalIslam.html

a decently worded yet meek and uncharismatic view from the other side, the next article appeals for the discouragement of political islam.

http://www.ntpi.org/html/statement.html

i hope this helps you in understanding where the militancy comes from, doctor. to further your statement, i certainly do not think it is really about religion or its teachings in its pristine form. it enters the political foray, as has also been proclaimed by Swami Vivekananda, according to whom religion without politics is a wasted social resource. religion is a social resource, that which exercises control over millions of people. so in this world of increasing atheists, there is yet a tremendous amount of attention being given to religion and allied activities as they have clearly understood that it is a great social mobilizer.

Back-stabbing Back Home

to further my concern on whom you should fear, this is often met with a lot of opposition, but i feel is important to be understood. our fear of the external factors-islam, gays, martians-only aids the efforts of furthering this generation and sustainence of fear from those whom we might be possibly considering to be our closer allies.

http://www.davidmyers.org/Brix?pageID=65

Education and Terrorism

i would like to comment on world domination later, but would like to focus on something i feel is much more important truth_doctor, and that is education.

this small clip talks about the involvement of well-educated people supporting acts of militancy.
http://atheism.about.com/b/2006/06/05/education-and-terrorism.htm

Whom should you Fear?

whom should you fear? having witnessed riots as a child, they have had a lasting impact on my mind. the rage, the violence, the ruthlessness. and the sense of security on hearing that the police cracked down angry mobs in sensitive areas. but then, do i fear a knife or the hand that might stab me? i feel the one who engraves a violent message in the minds of people is the one i would fear more than the violent man on the road.

Re: What do you Fear?

i can understand irrational fear, when grips a populace, blinds it with paranoia and defensive aggression. but then, throughout the history, it has been noted that all people from those faiths that advocated propagation of their faith have encountered a steady resistance. is it about what the religion had actually sought to do anymore? i was reading one of theo van gogh's essays where he talks of the dangers of the 'political islam' penetrating the administrative systems of the world. although i might not agree with his extremist views on the faith, i cannot help but wonder why i should not fear radical islamist ideology or the ones who propagate it.

What do you Fear?

fear is reaction to some danger or threat that faces a person. what is our threat today? loss of liberty? muted freedom of speech? erasure of self identity?

i know these links are a bit old, but good pieces on the generation of atmosphere of fear:
http://www.commondreams.org/views02/1230-02.htm
http://www.spiked-online.com/Articles/0000000CA760.htm

"What are fears but voices airy?
Whispering harm where harm is not.
And deluding the unwary
Till the fatal bolt is shot!"

William Wordsworth

First Response

certainly provocative. are we to just push ourselves into a state of blind fear?

Schism Link

forgot the schism link. here it is:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rpiccERJaFk

Fitna by Geert Wilders

Fitna, a short film by Geert Wilders, was screened in the Communication Theory class. Please see and comment.

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=3369102968312745410