there are many things that i learned from living in the ghettos. most of them are not good but there were a few things that i learned that i kept with me and hope to always have with me. one of these things is; respect for all men and respect for their beliefs and faith. this is america and our values are based on many freedoms...one of them being freedom of religion. no one has a right to degrade, berate or disrespect another man's religion. we teach our children what we believe at home, in our churches and some private schools. we have a right to do this, in fact, an obligation...to do this. but we do not have a right to make our negative opinions regarding someone else's faith/belief 'viral'. to me, when we do this we are giving the anti-american antagonists a 'match' for their bucket of fuel. i believe that such persons were just waiting for a 'reason' to incite others against the presence of america in their country. and, unfortunately, some un-thinking individuals gave it to them. are the tragedies that are happening and have happened internationally wrong??!! of course, they are grossly wrong! because what has happened is that evil instigators purposely riled up demonstators using the film as an 'excuse' to do what they really wanted to do all along. these haters were 'seeking' a sliver of a prompting to carry out their evil purposes...and the film gave them exactly what they were looking for. i am sorry for the lost of the innocent...those who were just performing a service for their country. i pray for their families in this very hard time of lost. and i can only hope that in the future individuals will be more mindful and use some 'common sense' regarding the material that they put on line because these days everything has the potential to go viral...and it effects the entire world.
...peace

'zip the bag' of the (often) wanton, and gratuitous, death and destruction that seems to be again proliferating. Indeed, (as I read it) a hearts lament here laced with horror and disgust. Far too many 'gut jerk' reactions in this world, Odinsan, and, in many instances, many of them leading to something far worse than originally intended. May I say that the brevity here is effective. It allows the reader a moment to sift through their own recollections, and, perhaps firsthand experiences, and form a response. Peace...

Without thinking they were idealists
courageous
loving

I've known many volunteer soldiers who were the very same. So very, very sad.

Beautifully stated; your parting shot is so devastating because it shouts the TRUTH. I know I over-react but right now I'd like to see the US bombing Libya and bugger the civilians - they're ALL guilty as far as I'm concerned. Many will decry my words - and a huge part of me knows they would be objectively right - but such widespread ingratitude, hatred and savagery as shown by these people inflames and incites the worst part of me. I blame it on my warlike Celtic ancestry! I do hope I calm down a little soon.