Pure Evil

There is evil in this world. There always has been. That makes it no easier to accept. The events in Nice, France saddens me to no end. Families, babes in strollers, the innocent killed because they may or may not believe in the same religion as a guy in a truck out to murder, terrorize, and destroy.

I am tempted to wonder of the President of France will call for restrictions on trucks, but that would be trite and insulting to the murdered.

We will hear the usual calls for tempering our anger. We will hear again that those who do this do not represent Islam. But there is the rub. The suicide killers believe they are on jihad, they are convinced their God will reward them for wanton acts of murder. They believe they are acting as directed by Islamic creed, therefore, they are. Perception is indeed reality. Just as witch burning and the Star Chamber represented Christian beliefs in the past, modern Muslims must accept that terrorism and the murder of innocent people is a tenet of their religion in today's world. Secular and political pressure alone will not change the culture of violence. The call to stop the insane violence and terror must come from the Imams and prayer leaders. Those who want to burn down the world must be isolated and marginalized. Political pressure must be brought to bear on the governments in places like Iran and Saudi Arabia to stop their tacit approval and outright support.

Make no mistake, we are at war. We have been since the eighth century.