Friday, November 30, 2007

Fanatics vs. Moderation

The response to the jailing of the British teacher highlights the differences among fanatics, fundamentalists, and those who follow the middle way, as commented upon here. Those who call for "No tolerance" and for her being killed for letting her class of 7 year olds name a bear Mohammed shows they are fanatics.

This also highlights the problem we face. It is easy for the government of a country to fight the government of another country -- it's a top-down system vs. a top-down system. However, how do you fight against a bottom-up system? That is what we face with fanaticism. How do you change people's minds? Here, the blunt object of force known as government simply won't work -- and may in fact make things worse.

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