An Interesting Thought Experiment

Are you a good lover?

Sorry, I'm not referring to anything sexual here.

It's something I've been thinking about. I guess you would call it LOVER in the spiritual sense.

It's easy to love someone like say, Mother Theresa, isn't it?

But here's the real challenge. Try to love someone you think is hateful... maybe like Osama Bin Laden (or pick your own bad guy).

Now before you get the wrong idea, I'm not saying to love what he thinks or does, or become an Al Qaeda sympathizer and head off to a training camp.

I'm asking you to take a minute, suspend judgement, and try to understand what made him the person he is today. What did he experience in his life? Are you able to "walk a mile in his moccasins"? Would you make the same decisions if you had similar experiences?

And finally, could you love him as a human being, however misguided his ideas and mission?

Can you do it?

Then one final idea to consider.

How is your hate different from his?

**

Peace on Earth Goodwill To Men

As the Holiday season approaches here are some ideas to reflect on... no matter what your faith or beliefs.

"Wisdom is better than weapons of war..." - Ecclesiastes 9:18

"I hope... that mankind will at length, as they call themselves responsible creatures, have the reason and sense enough to settle their differences without cutting throats..." - Ben Franklin

"America does not go abroad in search of monsters to destroy." - John Quincy Adams

"We Americans have no commission from GOD to police the world." - Ben Harrison

"We have guided missiles and misguided men."
"Wars are poor chisels for carving out peaceful tomorrows." - Martin Luther King Jr.

"Permanent good can never be the outcome of untruth and violence." - Gandhi

"Force always attracts men of low morality."
"Nothing will end war unless the people themselves refuse to go to war." "Any intelligent fool can make things bigger, more complex,and more violent. It takes a touch of genius, and a lot of courage, to move in the opposite direction."
- Albert Einstein

"That cannot be a true religion which needs carnal weapons to uphold it." - Roger Williams

"Non-violence is not inaction. It is not discussion. It is not for the timid or weak. Non-violence is hard work." - Cesar Chavez

And here's my favorite from George W. Bush. "When we talk about war, we're really talking about peace." WHAT!??!!!?

**

The Iraq War

"The Bush administration said it would lend $17.4 billion to General Motors Corp. and Chrysler LLC, buying them a few weeks of financial relief..."

Compare that number to the steady increase of the Iraq war as reflected in the new war cost counter I added in the sidebar.

Herbert Hoover said, "Blessed are the young for they shall inherit the national debt."

**

A Letter from an Anonymous Iranian to the People of America

This is from a post on Mark Joyner's Blog

This is definitely a different picture than the one painted by the US media. And it's exactly the reason governments in some countries want more control and restrictions on the Internet.



A Letter from an Anonymous Iranian to the People of America

OK, I first wanted to deliver this message to you in form of a video containing interviews with people here, but after receiving some warnings from from family and friends about the risks of it here, I decided to share this message for you in form of a letter.

But just know that there's actually a human being - just like you - behind this letter, typing every word for you...

You know how much focus there is on the news about Iran these days. When you turn on the TV and read the paper, you hear about it.

You see the media tries to create an image in your mind about Iran and Iranians.

But have you ever wondered how real it is? Have you ever wished you could see behind the scenes and see the truth for yourself?

Well, here's a chance...

After talking with Mark about how many big misconceptions have been created by the media, I decided to clear up some of them for you in this letter. Hope you enjoy reading them and seeing the truth...

Do Iranians hate Americans and the people in the West?

No, not at all. Just ask someone who has come here as a tourist and he will tell you Iranians are very friendly and hospitable with people from other countries.

It's true that the media here tries to make people think the West is the enemy because that's how they get power. But most Iranians don't have any problem with other nations and actually like them.

Yes, there are some radical groups (like "Basij") who think the west is the enemy but they are the minority.

Actually this minority group is even hated among most people here because they interfere with our own people - like attacking and arresting women if they're not wearing the kind of covered clothed they think is correct, among other things.

But the big majority of people here like other nations and want to live in peace and harmony with the rest of the world.

So do Iranian people want to enter a war with the US?

What do YOU think? Do people ever like to enter a war at all? Hasn't it been always kings and governments provoke and force people to this?

The Iran's government may not mind a war, but the people certainly don't want it.

Because people are always people. They have families who they care about and don't want to risk losing in a war. Also they understand the other country's people have families too.

You know, war never has solved any problems. It only creates more problems.

What about the Iran president? Do Iranians agree with him and his politics?

Some do, but the majority don't. So it's important to know he certainly doesn't speak for all Iranians.

So when he says something about Holocaust, writes a letter to the US president, or makes a speech in United Nations, he is NOT speaking for us either.

But doesn't the President of Iran want to nuke Israel and "wipe them off the map"?

I have heard the exact statement Ahmadinejad said in Farsi so I know what he really meant. He meant the Israel government should give its place to Palestine - like it used to be before.

He thinks there should be no country called "Israel' on the map, and instead it should be called "Palestine".

So what about the Jews living there?

Well, they can certainly keep living there in peace because neither the government of Iran nor our people have any problem with Jews. Actually, did you know there are many Jews and Christians living here in Iran in peace?

So what about terrorists? Don't Iranians agree with and support groups like Al Qaida?

I was really shocked when Mark told me some Americans think Iranians support Al Qaida and other similar groups.

Because Al Qaida and Taliban were one of the most hated groups among Iranians - even years before the September 11 tragedy, because of what Taliban were doing to Afghan people.

If you go to the streets here and ask hundreds of people if they agree with those groups, I guarantee you'll receive some shocked faces looking at you wondering what strange question is that?

Are Iranians all Muslim?

Even though most people here are Muslim, but there are also many Christians, Jews, Atheists, and others living here in peace.

And just like other Iranians, they too like Iran's culture and are proud of their history, but don't agree with the regime.

So how is life in Iran really like?

If you come to Iran today and walk in the streets, what you will see may surprise you...

You will see parents and their children walking happily together...

You'll see children playing soccer in the corner of an alley...

You'll see young boys driving a sports car fast and playing western POP music in the car...

You'll see couples walking hand in hand and talking...

You'll see normal stores, shopping malls, restaurants, and people living their ordinary life.

You see, people are people - no matter if they are in New York, Paris, Tokyo, or Tehran.

So how come the picture the media shows is so different?

(I know because I sometimes watch CNN and BBC through satellite TV and check out their websites on the Internet.)

You know, it's an art of the media to take a tiny part of the whole picture and make it look as if it IS the whole picture.

Just like there are Ku Klux Klan in America. It would be easy to use images of the KKK and paint the picture: "See, this is America."

They do it over there to show a cloaked picture of Iranians, and they do it here to show a cloaked image of Americans.

But today the Internet gives us the opportunity to discover the truth for ourselves - if we are open to do it.

So to you that are reading this letter, whether you live in the US or any other part of the world, warm regards from the people in Iran.

[Your peace-lover friend from Tehran, Iran]


Tags: Life, Government, Iran, Peace