Disclaimers

I'd like to say that, for the record, I don not support terrorism. Let me repeat: I DO NOT SUPPORT TERRORISM. But there's something really annoying that happens whenever you tell someone, or rather, whenever I tell someone that I don't agree with our wars in Iraq, Afghanistan, or our current foray into Libya, I'm accused of "loving terrorists" or hating America. For the record, I neither love terrorists nor do I hate America (I hate some Americans, but I hold no animus towards America in general). But I've grown sick and tired of adding a disclaimer to what I say every time I give my opinion about Islam, Muslims, or the Middle East. Case in point: this idiot preacher who burned the Koran. Now, I'm not saying that what happened in Afghanistan (angry mobs attacked and killed UN workers) was a good thing -- it's not. There is no reason in the wordl that would excuse attacking and beheading people just because some ass half a world away pissed you off. But -- if you burn the holy book of a religion that has adherents that don't take kindly to insults, you know exactly what you're doing when you decide to burn their sacred texts. You wnat those people to react. More importantly, you want them to react violently. You want them to react like the crazy, America-hating Muslims. Unfortunately, if you tell someone that you feel that this idiot preacher bears some moral responsibility for what happened as a result of his Koran burning, you're likely to be accused of supporting Muslim extremists who behead innocent people. Look, I know that there is not just one type of Muslim. In fact, most of the world's Muslims (who happen to be Indonesian) are peaceful people who are no more inclined to attack their fellow man than a Christian, Buddhist, or atheist. Likewise, I know that pastor Terry Jones is not an accurate representative of Christianity. There are plenty of Christians who feel that Mr. Jones' actions are not only irresponsible, but dangerous. I would like to think that, whenever I tell someone that I know that not every Muslim is a terrorist in waiting, I wouldn't have to add that I love America, that Christians are good people, and that I hate Saddam Hussein.