Letter to the editor

What is happening right now between the religious factions in Iraq, is, sad to say, nothing new. There are no countries in the so-called civilized world that have been immune from the tragedy on one religious group or another claiming to be the only path to righteousness and wreaking violence upon those it deems to be"unbelievers". At the moment the perpetraters happen to be Islamic fanatics and political extremists from middleastern lands, but there are those right here in our own country who harbor a similiar claim of the exclusive gateway to heaven. We see and hear them on radio and television, wild eyed and ranting, spouting dire warnings of hell and damnnation to the 'sinners' among us. In most cases, not all of course, these prophets of doom and retribution are, to be kind, seriously deficient in intellectual accumen. Even so, their rehetoric can easily incite some people to commit violent acts against those whos religion or life style differs from their own. Why do we allow fanatics and extremists to hijack our religious beliefs and so warp their messages as to bring such misery and pain into our lives. Our religious leaders, for the most part, abhor the violence and issue statements condemning the extremists......and then they go to sleep. If they could only muster up the fervor of their antagonists to inspire their flocks to repel the hatred and bigotry and put into practice the ideals of inclusiveness and love they 'claim' to embrace, there probably would'nt be a need for letters like this. It boggles the mind to understand how different religious sects, all claiming to be doing the work of God, can go on slaughtering each other and expecting to reap heavenly rewards for doing so.We do live in interesting times.

George Morin
Auburn