Recent Obama speeches in Egypt and China have hailed "freedom of worship" as an important universal right. At first glance, this seems to be a simple reiteration of the best in American social thought. I applaud the sentiments that champion freedom, but I am appalled at the subtle and subversive change in language from "freedom of religion" to "freedom of worship."
Our founders understood that freedom of religion/conscience is the first and most fundamental freedom of all. The U. S. Constitution and Bill of Rights were - and remain - unprecedented and unequalled in world history as charters of personal liberty. The federal (and by implication local and state) government does not exist to bestow rights, but to protect God-given (or Natural) liberties. America remains the only nation in the world with a complete "free market" in matters of faith and conscience.
"Worship" as defined by the current Administration is a narrowly-focused set of activities that are easily marginalized and privatized away from the public square. This new language conforms to Islamic thought where other monotheistic religions are "protected" - coded language for permitted as second-class (dhimmi) citizens. Obama-speak "worship" will permit gatherings for religious ceremonies, but allow the government to declare other public activities verboten if they are not is the interest of the "general welfare." One example of this is the arrest of peaceable Christian evangelists at an Arab cultural festival - in Michigan!
The Left for years has called upon the "people" to "speak truth to power" and "subvert the dominant paradigm." Well, now they are revealing their true colors in their intolerance of any dissent. As Tea Party activists expose their failed policies, the propaganda machines crank up their lies about the extremists and racists in the movement, conveniently ignoring the millions of hard-working citizens of every color and creed who oppose current policies. Collectivism destroys incentive and does not work. More government and more deficit spending will only destroy the prosperity of two centuries.
There are other language games being played by the magicians in power. They promised hope and change. They promised a post-partisan and post-racial era of good feelings. They promised reduced deficits. They promised exit strategies from "untenable" wars. Obama promised a "sharp pencil" look at every expenditure. The results? Utter failure on every count and the planned rapid destruction of what remains of free enterprise. Instead of a NASA promoting math and science in U.S. schools, the new Director sees his primary task as boosting the "self-esteem" of Islamic nations concerning their historical contributions to math and science. We have a State Department marginalizing the one democracy in the Middle East (Israel) while initiating new "outreaches" to the 57 nations living under the iron hand of Islam (none but Turkey are close to democratic).
I call upon all people of conscience to join me is an open process of decoding public rhetoric. Our enemies are not those who debate policies. There is room for rigorous public dialogue on the best ways to solve our problems. Our enemy is more nefarious. Our opponents are linguistic subversives who redefine terms that require a special class of interpreters! "Pro-Life" has become "against women." "Marriage" is now up for grabs. "The gender assigned at birth" is the new phrase for what any normal person would call "boy" or "girl." "Progressive" used to mean freedom with a social conscience - now it means control of the instruments of business.
Why does every politician need a spin doctor to interpret what she or he has just said? Our founders spoke unambiguously and laid the foundation for the greatest nation in history. Current leaders within the Beltway need to learn plain speech again and understand that ideas have consequences. People are not groups to be manipulated, but individuals made in God's image to be unleashed to their full potential.
There is still a window of time to change course - not back to Bush, but forward to our founder's best ideals. There is no time for nostalgia - we need renewal and responsible choices. Join me in not just reacting to the latest outrageous policies, but in actions that demonstrate our finest principles.
Monday, July 19, 2010
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
Needed: Character and Competence Not Color and Condemnation
When times are tough, people look for scapegoats. Today the Obama Administration leaders are lambasting the racist elements of the Tea Party Movement and encouraging African-Americans to be more "intense" in their demands for better health care, education and job opportunities. For an Administration billed as "post-racial" we are seeing familiar agitprop and a refusal to condemn the hate speech of racial radicals on the Left. The failure of Attorney General Holder to prosecute the New Black Panther leaders in Philadelphia for voter intimidation is only one example of the preferential politics of this "post-partisan" regime.
There is no place for racism or sexism in American life. Too many have shed blood, sweat and tears to bring us to the current moment of opportunity. Democrats and Republicans have their saints and sinners in our history of moving toward the ideals of our Constitution. When we are at our best, the words of Martin Luther King resound in our hearts, as we long for the day when all are judged by the content of their character and not by the color of their skin. Word like "cracker" and "nigger" should never flow from our lips. We can be proud of our ethnic heritage and enjoy the contributions of every culture to the living cathedral of the American community.
Our current crises are solvable, if women and men of character and competence keep the media out of the room, roll up their sleeves and get to work. We can create new private-public partnerships to repair our infrastructure, restore urban war zones and deliver services to the rural poor. Instead of posturing for attention and and lining our pockets with present and future kickbacks, civil and political leaders must exercise integrity and imagination and usher in a new, more humble and more creative era.
Black families are in crisis. The factors are many and structural; however, they are also moral and spiritual. Poverty and redlining are not the immediate causes of illegitimate babies and murder. Fathers must be held responsible for the children they sire. Ministers of religious communities must insist that reverence for God and respect for others are the only antidotes to the rage men and women feel. Educational leaders must step up, remove incompetent administrators and leaders and create a new environment for empowerment.
White America is also in dire straits. Some of the problems are better hidden, but they are just as serious. Narcissistic parents divorcing each other and dividing the loyalties of children cause a huge strain on the legal and social service systems. The rural poor are trapped in their own cycles of domestic violence, ignorance and hopelessness. Two generations of indulgence have produced men and women who grow up too fast in the wrong categories (sexual experimentation) and too slowly in the important ones (hard work and integrity).
"Brown" America struggles with the issue of illegal immigrants draining the economic and social resources of many localities and states. Hispanic leaders cannot pretend to be loyal to the USA and pander to the La Raza crowds. While the Left-leaning African-American and Hispanic groups share a jaded vision of past and future, the majority of folks in their communities just what a safe world for the children to flourish. We need men and women of courage to help us create legal pathways to citizenship and not just amnesty and cheap labor/votes.
We need character and competence, not emotional appeals to color. We have shared challenges and dreams that require more than tolerance - they require love and respect that are the keys to the transformational synergy our nation and world needs. We have structural issues that transcend color-coded politics:
Public employee pension funds must be overhauled. Sloganeering will not preserve jobs or services.
Politicians must have the same health and retirement benefits as the private sector. This is the fastest pathway to real reform and the unleashing of creativity in the public square.
Balanced budgets are no longer optional. If we need more money, we streamline or raise revenues openly. The California Legislature cannot account for billions of misappropriated dollars, scores of commissions and unspeakable waste of the taxpayers' money.
We cannot have a war economy and welfare state at the same time. Our troops need to destroy terrorist locales, protect allied interests and rapidly train host nations' personnel. We must stop being an occupying force in Muslim lands and bring our brave women and men home. We do need excellent technology and we must care for troops and veterans; however, we can do these effectively without the corporate and political largess that misuses our tax dollars.
Government regulation of private industry is needed to ensure ethical standards. Government administration of the same is the quickest road to disaster. Seventy years of USSR-led economic experiments should teach us something about the dangers of bureaucratic collectivism.
I call upon conservatives and progressives, accountants and agitators, engineers, ethics professors and all people of conscience to unite in dialogue that leads to action. There are dangers to real success: We must let go of anger and show compassion. As we solve homelessness, some "advocates" will need to find a private job. Capitalists will have to be accountable to more that their leading shareholders. Read and Yellow, Black and White - we are all precious in His sight. Precious...and accountable for how we live.
There is no place for racism or sexism in American life. Too many have shed blood, sweat and tears to bring us to the current moment of opportunity. Democrats and Republicans have their saints and sinners in our history of moving toward the ideals of our Constitution. When we are at our best, the words of Martin Luther King resound in our hearts, as we long for the day when all are judged by the content of their character and not by the color of their skin. Word like "cracker" and "nigger" should never flow from our lips. We can be proud of our ethnic heritage and enjoy the contributions of every culture to the living cathedral of the American community.
Our current crises are solvable, if women and men of character and competence keep the media out of the room, roll up their sleeves and get to work. We can create new private-public partnerships to repair our infrastructure, restore urban war zones and deliver services to the rural poor. Instead of posturing for attention and and lining our pockets with present and future kickbacks, civil and political leaders must exercise integrity and imagination and usher in a new, more humble and more creative era.
Black families are in crisis. The factors are many and structural; however, they are also moral and spiritual. Poverty and redlining are not the immediate causes of illegitimate babies and murder. Fathers must be held responsible for the children they sire. Ministers of religious communities must insist that reverence for God and respect for others are the only antidotes to the rage men and women feel. Educational leaders must step up, remove incompetent administrators and leaders and create a new environment for empowerment.
White America is also in dire straits. Some of the problems are better hidden, but they are just as serious. Narcissistic parents divorcing each other and dividing the loyalties of children cause a huge strain on the legal and social service systems. The rural poor are trapped in their own cycles of domestic violence, ignorance and hopelessness. Two generations of indulgence have produced men and women who grow up too fast in the wrong categories (sexual experimentation) and too slowly in the important ones (hard work and integrity).
"Brown" America struggles with the issue of illegal immigrants draining the economic and social resources of many localities and states. Hispanic leaders cannot pretend to be loyal to the USA and pander to the La Raza crowds. While the Left-leaning African-American and Hispanic groups share a jaded vision of past and future, the majority of folks in their communities just what a safe world for the children to flourish. We need men and women of courage to help us create legal pathways to citizenship and not just amnesty and cheap labor/votes.
We need character and competence, not emotional appeals to color. We have shared challenges and dreams that require more than tolerance - they require love and respect that are the keys to the transformational synergy our nation and world needs. We have structural issues that transcend color-coded politics:
Public employee pension funds must be overhauled. Sloganeering will not preserve jobs or services.
Politicians must have the same health and retirement benefits as the private sector. This is the fastest pathway to real reform and the unleashing of creativity in the public square.
Balanced budgets are no longer optional. If we need more money, we streamline or raise revenues openly. The California Legislature cannot account for billions of misappropriated dollars, scores of commissions and unspeakable waste of the taxpayers' money.
We cannot have a war economy and welfare state at the same time. Our troops need to destroy terrorist locales, protect allied interests and rapidly train host nations' personnel. We must stop being an occupying force in Muslim lands and bring our brave women and men home. We do need excellent technology and we must care for troops and veterans; however, we can do these effectively without the corporate and political largess that misuses our tax dollars.
Government regulation of private industry is needed to ensure ethical standards. Government administration of the same is the quickest road to disaster. Seventy years of USSR-led economic experiments should teach us something about the dangers of bureaucratic collectivism.
I call upon conservatives and progressives, accountants and agitators, engineers, ethics professors and all people of conscience to unite in dialogue that leads to action. There are dangers to real success: We must let go of anger and show compassion. As we solve homelessness, some "advocates" will need to find a private job. Capitalists will have to be accountable to more that their leading shareholders. Read and Yellow, Black and White - we are all precious in His sight. Precious...and accountable for how we live.
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
History and Hope: Celebrating America
For seven years I have commented on current events, waxed philosophical about creative and disturbing trends and tried to be a faithful "messenger to the thoughtful." As we celebrate America's 234th birthday, we are watching the erosion of ideals and institutions that have held our experiment in liberty together. I will continue to try to move the conversation from anger to action, from subjective feelings to principled thinking and from collectivist control to personal freedom.
Today, however, let's take a moment to celebrate. Historical reflection is not mind-numbing nostalgia. Looking back can help us look ahead. Seeing the depravity and dignity of previous generations can inspire and warn us about our own. Here are some reasons to light the sparklers and ignite the fireworks over the ocean.
We still live is the freest land in the world, with open space and opportunities found nowhere else.
We are a generous people, who, in spite of our own environmental challenges, lead the world in care for other nations.
We are still living in the shadow of the Greatest Generation who spent their teen and young adult years battling the Great Depression, storming the Normandy beaches and surviving the Bataan Death March. This generation witnessed the Holocaust and Hiroshima and still built the most prosperous land in history, marched for civil and voting rights and bequeathed a belief in the future.
We are the land of Lincoln. We are capable of repentance and transformation, of challenging injustice and changing structures when needed.
We are the land of Washington. We know intuitively that a free people must be reverent and virtuous, humble and sacrificial, ready to serve posterity over their personal passions.
We are the land of Christian and Enlightened thinkers who pioneered total freedom of conscience and created a context for people of all faiths or none to live peaceably with their deepest differences.
We are also the land of William Jennings Bryan and Dorothy Day. One was a progressive Democratic candidate for President three times and a fundamentalist Christian (who says traditional faith and social conscience cannot be woven together?). The other was a Catholic lay leader who spent her lifetime working for the poor and laboring populations and refusing to accept the economic or social status quo.
We are the land of Rabbi Abraham Heschel and the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King. They marched together for Civil Rights and left speeches and writings that remain as fresh as they day they were uttered or written.
We are the land of The Williamsburg Charter, a celebration of two centuries of freedom of conscience. This Charter is signed by Coretta Scott King and Phyllis Schafly. Elie Weisel and Norman Lear's signatures are next to bishops, intellectuals, politicians and business leaders who all know that religious liberty is the first freedom.
We are the land that represents hope for a world where liberty is unknown and violence plagues people of faith and justice.
Yes, i could comment on the legacy of slavery, our continental conquests and our many mistakes. But today we need to thank God for our land, humbly beseech His mercy for our many failures, leave our computers and go eat with our neighbors and serve those who cannot return the favor.
"America is great because she is good." May we live up to the praises of Alexis de Tocqueville, circa 1831. We have reason to celebrate and in our rejoicing reconsecrate ourselves to our Founder's vision.
Today, however, let's take a moment to celebrate. Historical reflection is not mind-numbing nostalgia. Looking back can help us look ahead. Seeing the depravity and dignity of previous generations can inspire and warn us about our own. Here are some reasons to light the sparklers and ignite the fireworks over the ocean.
We still live is the freest land in the world, with open space and opportunities found nowhere else.
We are a generous people, who, in spite of our own environmental challenges, lead the world in care for other nations.
We are still living in the shadow of the Greatest Generation who spent their teen and young adult years battling the Great Depression, storming the Normandy beaches and surviving the Bataan Death March. This generation witnessed the Holocaust and Hiroshima and still built the most prosperous land in history, marched for civil and voting rights and bequeathed a belief in the future.
We are the land of Lincoln. We are capable of repentance and transformation, of challenging injustice and changing structures when needed.
We are the land of Washington. We know intuitively that a free people must be reverent and virtuous, humble and sacrificial, ready to serve posterity over their personal passions.
We are the land of Christian and Enlightened thinkers who pioneered total freedom of conscience and created a context for people of all faiths or none to live peaceably with their deepest differences.
We are also the land of William Jennings Bryan and Dorothy Day. One was a progressive Democratic candidate for President three times and a fundamentalist Christian (who says traditional faith and social conscience cannot be woven together?). The other was a Catholic lay leader who spent her lifetime working for the poor and laboring populations and refusing to accept the economic or social status quo.
We are the land of Rabbi Abraham Heschel and the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King. They marched together for Civil Rights and left speeches and writings that remain as fresh as they day they were uttered or written.
We are the land of The Williamsburg Charter, a celebration of two centuries of freedom of conscience. This Charter is signed by Coretta Scott King and Phyllis Schafly. Elie Weisel and Norman Lear's signatures are next to bishops, intellectuals, politicians and business leaders who all know that religious liberty is the first freedom.
We are the land that represents hope for a world where liberty is unknown and violence plagues people of faith and justice.
Yes, i could comment on the legacy of slavery, our continental conquests and our many mistakes. But today we need to thank God for our land, humbly beseech His mercy for our many failures, leave our computers and go eat with our neighbors and serve those who cannot return the favor.
"America is great because she is good." May we live up to the praises of Alexis de Tocqueville, circa 1831. We have reason to celebrate and in our rejoicing reconsecrate ourselves to our Founder's vision.
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
The Genius of the First Amendment
Freedom is fragile. Throughout history, most people have lived in cultures or under regimes where blood, religion and soil have determined beliefs and behavior with no room for dissent. In the past 500 years, Judeo-Christian and Enlightenment affirmations of full liberty of conscience, private property and personal virtue have brought enormous good to the world.
As the US Constitution was framed and ratified in 1787, our Founders added ten amendments to ensure its passage and explicitly enumerate critical personal rights and political boundaries. Whether it is the right to bear arms, a trial by jury or the freedom to assemble, speak and petition the government, Americans have enjoyed liberty without parallel or precedent for more than 200 years. Sometimes those freedoms chafe our sense of justice as criminals, "take the 5th." Sometimes free speech is interpreted so broadly that millions are offended by blasphemous and immoral images and language. But most Americans - and most who have followed our lead around the world - feel the risks are the price we pay for liberty.
The first and greatest freedom is enshrined in the first sixteen words of the First Amendment: "Congress shall make no law respecting the establishment of religion or restricting the free exercise thereof." This clause, along with the Constitutional declaration that there shall be no religious test for public office, constitutes the greatest experiment in freedom in history. For the first time, differences about the most important matters of the human soul are left to the individual and not determined by the state. No state church. People of all faiths or none can live with their deepest differences without fear. Religious communities are protected and welcomed, but they must compete in a free market of ideas and their future rests on their vitality, not state coercion or subsidies.
Over the years, this freedom has been tested by bigoted and intolerant people. Anti-Catholic and anti-Jewish sentiments permeate much of our history. Atheists and believers passionately present their causes, each claiming to have the best evidence. In the past half-century, secular elites have created a new sport with their anti-Christian screeds, like Bill Maher's failed movie and the constant attempts of the ACLU to eliminate religious expressions from the public square. Most Americans are appalled at intolerance and are willing to live with diversity.
Recent events in Dearborn, Michigan reveal the ugly side of intolerant Islam. They unveil an unprecedented threat to our future liberties. Christians were arrested for engaging in peaceful conversations about religion at an Arab festival. They were not blocking foot traffic, hurling insults, picketing or even accosting pedestrians like the brochure distributors in Las Vegas or New York. They were shouted down, accused of causing trouble and carried away in handcuffs. Amidst Islamic shouts, peaceful US citizens were denied their First Amendment rights.
Militant Islam has no place in its ethos for real liberty. There are progressive/liberal traditions of freedom and tolerance in Islamic history, but these have always been drowned out by voices committed to establishing a universal caliphate. One looks in vain around the globe for any Muslim-dominated country that offers full religious freedom - including the liberty to convert to another faith or leave the traditional community without fear of a fatwa.
I challenge Islamic leaders to affirm the First Amendment without qualification and to assert that complete freedom of conscience is a moral and political good. Without these assurances, tensions will only rise. It is not only Christians who are threatened by the assumptive language and sectarian demands of militants - all lovers of freedom are imperiled by intolerance. Some of my atheist friends feel persecuted by what they perceive to be a Christian-saturated culture. Several Christian friends I know feel persecuted for upholding their beliefs and values. To both groups I say beware of the real threat - a perverted interpretation of a religion with no history of anything approaching democracy.
If progressive Muslims will show courage, they will find allies with all people of conscience. The secular Left must step up and criticize some of the barbaric practices of the extremists and stop living in guilt for the colonial past. The Right must reach out and appeal to all people who affirm their core values. Most of all, Americans of all persuasions need to learn their history and rediscover the powerful principled freedoms bequeathed by our Founders.
There is no freedom without virtue and no virtue without absolute morality rooted in transcendent truth. We must recover these timeless principles or America will find herself in the clutches of religious or secular tyranny.
As the US Constitution was framed and ratified in 1787, our Founders added ten amendments to ensure its passage and explicitly enumerate critical personal rights and political boundaries. Whether it is the right to bear arms, a trial by jury or the freedom to assemble, speak and petition the government, Americans have enjoyed liberty without parallel or precedent for more than 200 years. Sometimes those freedoms chafe our sense of justice as criminals, "take the 5th." Sometimes free speech is interpreted so broadly that millions are offended by blasphemous and immoral images and language. But most Americans - and most who have followed our lead around the world - feel the risks are the price we pay for liberty.
The first and greatest freedom is enshrined in the first sixteen words of the First Amendment: "Congress shall make no law respecting the establishment of religion or restricting the free exercise thereof." This clause, along with the Constitutional declaration that there shall be no religious test for public office, constitutes the greatest experiment in freedom in history. For the first time, differences about the most important matters of the human soul are left to the individual and not determined by the state. No state church. People of all faiths or none can live with their deepest differences without fear. Religious communities are protected and welcomed, but they must compete in a free market of ideas and their future rests on their vitality, not state coercion or subsidies.
Over the years, this freedom has been tested by bigoted and intolerant people. Anti-Catholic and anti-Jewish sentiments permeate much of our history. Atheists and believers passionately present their causes, each claiming to have the best evidence. In the past half-century, secular elites have created a new sport with their anti-Christian screeds, like Bill Maher's failed movie and the constant attempts of the ACLU to eliminate religious expressions from the public square. Most Americans are appalled at intolerance and are willing to live with diversity.
Recent events in Dearborn, Michigan reveal the ugly side of intolerant Islam. They unveil an unprecedented threat to our future liberties. Christians were arrested for engaging in peaceful conversations about religion at an Arab festival. They were not blocking foot traffic, hurling insults, picketing or even accosting pedestrians like the brochure distributors in Las Vegas or New York. They were shouted down, accused of causing trouble and carried away in handcuffs. Amidst Islamic shouts, peaceful US citizens were denied their First Amendment rights.
Militant Islam has no place in its ethos for real liberty. There are progressive/liberal traditions of freedom and tolerance in Islamic history, but these have always been drowned out by voices committed to establishing a universal caliphate. One looks in vain around the globe for any Muslim-dominated country that offers full religious freedom - including the liberty to convert to another faith or leave the traditional community without fear of a fatwa.
I challenge Islamic leaders to affirm the First Amendment without qualification and to assert that complete freedom of conscience is a moral and political good. Without these assurances, tensions will only rise. It is not only Christians who are threatened by the assumptive language and sectarian demands of militants - all lovers of freedom are imperiled by intolerance. Some of my atheist friends feel persecuted by what they perceive to be a Christian-saturated culture. Several Christian friends I know feel persecuted for upholding their beliefs and values. To both groups I say beware of the real threat - a perverted interpretation of a religion with no history of anything approaching democracy.
If progressive Muslims will show courage, they will find allies with all people of conscience. The secular Left must step up and criticize some of the barbaric practices of the extremists and stop living in guilt for the colonial past. The Right must reach out and appeal to all people who affirm their core values. Most of all, Americans of all persuasions need to learn their history and rediscover the powerful principled freedoms bequeathed by our Founders.
There is no freedom without virtue and no virtue without absolute morality rooted in transcendent truth. We must recover these timeless principles or America will find herself in the clutches of religious or secular tyranny.
Friday, June 18, 2010
Action Report 3: Peace is Possible
Today at Acton I attended a lecture by Mustafa Akyol, a writer for the the Turkish Daily News and author of the forthcoming book, The Islamic Case for Freedom. He represents the most hopeful thinking I have heard from Muslims who seek to live peacefully alongside people of all faiths or none. Akyol uncovered some important historical sources of progressive Islamic thought, from the seventh to the twentieth centuries. There are multiple voices of pluralistic and tolerant thought that have been silenced by radicals throughout the centuries. He and I did not agree on every issue, but I have found a real partner for peace, a Muslim who does not want Jews and Christians in dhimmitude and rejects all forms of coercion in matters of religion.
THE issue for peace in the 21st century is creating a world where two missionary religions can live with their deepest differences, fervently carry out their missionary work and affirm rights for others that they want for themselves. Along with Imam Tahir Anwar in San Jose, CA (who I am honored to dialogue with at Apple Computer's Interfaith Panel twice a year), Akyol is a devout Muslim who respects the genius of political liberty in the US Constitution and affirms the importance of entrepreneurship and free market economies. We both agree that a free society is a virtuous society and that the way forward for the Islamic world is not Wahhabi Islamicism, but an embrace of freedom of conscience and opportunity.
Mr. Akyol shows great courage speaking in a devout Christian setting and graciously responding to the critiques and questions which are essential to understanding. A priest from Nigeria, whose parish is under siege by radical Muslims (hundreds of Christians have been killed this year as terrorists seek to impose their perverted version of Sharia Law), challenged Akoyl and all moderate-progressive Muslims to help him find a way to stop the violence. There are no easy answers as the call to "love your enemies and do good to those who persecute you" is heard in the context of wanton violence.
Peace will take courage, dialogue, economic partnerships and small steps of establishing trust. Today was a good day to hope that out of the current turmoil, trust can flourish.
THE issue for peace in the 21st century is creating a world where two missionary religions can live with their deepest differences, fervently carry out their missionary work and affirm rights for others that they want for themselves. Along with Imam Tahir Anwar in San Jose, CA (who I am honored to dialogue with at Apple Computer's Interfaith Panel twice a year), Akyol is a devout Muslim who respects the genius of political liberty in the US Constitution and affirms the importance of entrepreneurship and free market economies. We both agree that a free society is a virtuous society and that the way forward for the Islamic world is not Wahhabi Islamicism, but an embrace of freedom of conscience and opportunity.
Mr. Akyol shows great courage speaking in a devout Christian setting and graciously responding to the critiques and questions which are essential to understanding. A priest from Nigeria, whose parish is under siege by radical Muslims (hundreds of Christians have been killed this year as terrorists seek to impose their perverted version of Sharia Law), challenged Akoyl and all moderate-progressive Muslims to help him find a way to stop the violence. There are no easy answers as the call to "love your enemies and do good to those who persecute you" is heard in the context of wanton violence.
Peace will take courage, dialogue, economic partnerships and small steps of establishing trust. Today was a good day to hope that out of the current turmoil, trust can flourish.
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