However, I feel compelled to raise what seems to me a fairly obvious point...
"Hello, good evening and welcome to 'Britons Today'.
I'm your host, Su Spicious and, first up is Mrs Unbe Liever, whose son is not one of the many young men who have rushed off to fight in one of the many 'holy' wars currently raging.
Mrs Liever. Welcome."
"Thank you, Su. Delighted to be here."
"Now, Mrs Liever, could you explain just how your son not going off to fight in this latest 'holy' war has made you feel?"
"Well, I said to his father, 'what shall we indoctrinate the lad with, Father?' This was not long after the boy was newborn and I'd had a few pamphlet through, so I asked, I said, 'should we go with the barbaric classics, the Torah, Bible and Qur'an or switch it up a bit and baste the bairn in Hindu? Or, maybe, go with more modern day voodoo like scientololologism or the new-wave crystalline wiccadruids.' I mean, y'know it's a tough choice! So many to choose from! 'I've read all the pamphlets', I said, 'and they're all much of a muchness!"
And he said, not straight away mind; he carried on staring into the fire in silence for a bit, like he did, then he said something that I really wasn't expecting.
'You now what, mother?' He said, he had a very deep voice, that's one of the things that first attracted me, 'You know what? I don't think any of them make any sense!'
Well, it raised my eyebrow, I can tell you, but before I could say anything he continued, which in itself was unusual, not a very verbose chap y'know, anyway, he said. 'I've had deer poop' only he didn't say poop, he was a bit of a lad; luv 'im. 'I've had deer poop in my socks for a month now; just exactly as Morgana at the 'wishes & wants emporium' said to do, and Nothing! No improvement whatever! I tell ya, I don't think any of those people, who wax all lyrical about magical things, actually know anything about magical things! And, if they don't know anything about 'em, maybe there are no magic things!"
I was dumbstruck! I just sat and watched as he angrily tore off his poopy socks, then tentatively offered, 'You are suggesting we don't indoctrinate him at all, Father?'
'I am, Mother.' He said, he was deadly serious and when he's deadly serious it's always worth thinking about. So I did, I thought about it a bit, and what I thought was Kylie, my tarot card reader, never gets anything right! And it made me feel he might just be onto something. So after a moment or two I agreed, I said to him.
'Right, that's settled, then. I can stop worrying about it and recycle all those inane pamphlets!' As I stood to collect them, a thought struck me... 'So that the lad has the best chance of learning to think for himself, maybe we should abstain from practising our indoctrinations while he grows into an adult?" Well, father looked at me with such a loving smile on his face; proud, y'know.
'That's my girl,' he said, 'always thinking two steps ahead.'
So we didn't indoctrinate him in anything. And now, with all these kids leaving to join in some 'holy' war or other, I'm thrilled with our choice.
So many of those who chose to indoctrinate their precious sons have lost them to the violence of ideological war that their child only learned about from the book of their indoctrination! It's very sad, they must feel like they've betrayed their own children. And now, sadly, each and every one of them will never know the joy of being grandparents. Whereas, my son and his partner are expecting my third grandchild.
I just wish Father were still alive to see the wonderful fruits of our choice."
And so to the questions...
Is it possible for one who is NEVER branded and indoctrinated with an ideology to consider Jihad, Crusade or other "holy" war justified and worthwhile?
If one has never been taught to believe 'there is a paradise waiting for you', can one be persuaded to offer one's life for any cause promising paradise for those killed in pursuit of it?
On both counts, I think not.
However, this is not how the great multitudes of indoctrinated have been, and are being, educated to think...
At about 50 seconds into the report the obviously troubled father asks...
"Who made fatwa for them to go there? On what basis?" I feel that one may only conclude that the unspoken subtext of that mental position is...
"If one of my righteous religious leaders had got it in his head to call a fatwa, then it would be fine. I wouldn't be annoyed, shocked or worried.
I'd be rejoicing in my son's honourable participation in glorious holy Jihad."
So as a final ponder...
Can we honestly continue to pretend that these "warrior for god" concepts are not promoted in books, which almost all of society hail as "instructions direct from god"?
Is it not time for us all stop pretending these books are benign?
Might it be time to eradicate them, or at the very least edit them?
More on this theme...
To Offer Or Not Offer Belief, Scripture Scramble Religious Gameshow or Presentation for 3rd Annual International Day of Protest against Hereditary Religion
PEACE
Crispy
Crispy
Please leave a comment - Anything will do
The best communications are often,
THREE WORDS OR LESS
OR ONE OR MORE FINGERS!
The best communications are often,
THREE WORDS OR LESS
OR ONE OR MORE FINGERS!
