Posted by panch from pool0178.cvx25-bradley.dialup.earthlink.net (209.179.216.178) on Thursday, July 04, 2002 at 3:24PM :
Across America Assyrian Christians are out being "Whiter than thou" today. Fireworks...picnics...we may still have chai and kadeh, but we want to fit in and join this national holiday...we want our kids to fit in, get along, get ahead...so do we.
In Iraq we have Assyrians who became Muslim...they too want their children to get along, to get ahead, to blend in and celebrate national holidays...they want to take advantage of the things their country has to offer...just as we want to take advantage of America, of the opportunities.
All of us Assyrians are caught in this bind.
Islam overran the Mideast centuries ago and imposed its stamp on us all back there. At least it tried to accomodate people of different faiths...it's a hard thing to do under the best of circumstances...but they didn't just kill all non-Muslims outright.
Just a while ago, in historical time, the Christians (you DO refer to all people from Muslim countries or tribes as "Muslim" don't you, or "Arab" no matter where they're born in Islamic countries of the MidEast?) from Europe conquered America...and what did they do to the people they found already here? You really want to know?
There is no "ethnic problem" when you eliminate people outright...there WILL be ongoing conflict if you try to make peace and keep it for centuries and try to give the losing side its rights knowing that they'll resent their loss for all time and groups among them will periodically agitate and work to restore their ascendency. Easier to kill all dissent, all "outsiders" at the start. That's the Western Christian example.
For this...this jealousy and resentment between sects and branches of a Jewish faith totally foreign to us as Assyrians, we're supposed to kill each other's children? We're supposed to take sides between East and West and Christian and Muslim..as these same people had us killing each other on opposite sides of the Iran Iraq war? And don't tell me the Iranians didn't allow Christians to join the armed forces...we all suffered on both sides...as we are now no matter WHO wins these fights.
We wonder why we're apathetic and divided against each other and ourselves. Well here we are...divided in every way conceivable...adding to divisions we already had by now getting caught in this war on Terrorism nonsense spawned for Israel's sake...how much you Christians figure you owe them Jews anyway...for the "gift" of a religion that has you all eager to get butchered for Christ? Or has you all hot and bothered for Christian causes so much you support Christian nations that kill those of us who turned Muslim, because you happened to turn Christian instead??? This leads to sanity? This makes for unity? This does anything but makes us dizzy...and just want to get along wherever we are...no matter the cost?
Lord...what do you say to people... The Jesuits had it about right..."give us a child till it's six, and it's our's forever".
-- panch
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