Well, not quite the Messiah, but the messianic era. It’s been affirmed by Barak Obama, leader of the free world. In his pre-golf speech about the beheading of James Foley, the President stated
“One thing we can all agree on is that a group like ISIL has no place in the 21st century.”
This remarkable declaration of faith holds that it is the date, it’s our history of moral evolution that determines the behavior of people. Mankind has been redeemed through its adherence to religious values such as social justice, equality and peace. And it’s not just western liberals who hold this point of view. Obama continued
“Friends and allies around the world, we share a common security and a common set of values…”
We do?
As thousands of young men flock to Iraq from all over the world to join in ISIL’s barbarous ways, it seems the terrorists do indeed have a place in the 21st century.
And what’s this common set of values Obama’s referring to? Democracy? National integrity? Respect for individual autonomy? Respect for life? How about honesty? Surely everyone would agree with that .
A quick look at China, Cuba, or North Korea shows that there are many people who place no value on democracy. The Ukraine and Tibet have sadly learned that respect for another nation’s integrity is far down on the list of their allies’ priorities. In West Papua, Presidents Eisenhower and Kennedy repeated Neville Chamberlain’s strategy, of sacrificing one nation to appease an aggressor’s demands and threats.
Is there individual autonomy in a country that tells people what they are allowed to write, what they are allowed to think, or eat?
If we want to talk about respect for life, look at the Palestinians, who cherish death. Look at what Assad has done to the Syrian people; look at what the Syrians do to each other.
Honesty? Dorian Johnson, the key witness whose testimony led to days of rioting and looting in Missouri, was arrested previously for lying to the police. But according to an official of the National Association for the
Advancement of Colored People, his track record as a liar didn’t hurt his credibility as a witness. Nor did Al Sharpton’s record of deceit diminish his ability to agitate the population, and keep him in the press spotlight. Eric Holder, the individual responsible for the American Justice system backed up Johnson, Sharpton, et al.
Honesty? Many Americans, whether Muslim, Jewish, Christian or devout secularist have no trouble treating blatant lies about Israel as the gods’ own truth. They happily lie to themselves, because the fabricated stories are more appealing to their sense of justice. Their legitimacy is irrelevant.
It seems that the world has a different set of 21st century common values; ideals such as arrogance and entitlement. Responsibility is shunned, power is feared, life is debased, and truth is malleable.
ISIL and its ideological allies appear to have many places in the 21st century. The leaders of Western society must abandon their messianic dreams about the enlightened status of contemporary civilization. If our leaders don’t have the courage to identify the enemy and attack, our century will belong to these medieval savages. We’ll have an apocalypse, rather than messiah. ISIS knows that President Obama is right; it has no place in the 21st century. That’s why it’s taking the world back to a more savage past.