Wednesday, May 25, 2005

Run That By Me Once More

Saying you don't get the thesis of a Townhall Column borders, I know, on the tautological.

But this Suzanne Fields item, it's a corker.

What is her point here?

http://www.townhall.com/columnists/suzannefields/sf20050523.shtml

She seems to be saying that because those Islamic scum raise their kids to be ignorant xenophobic suicide bombers, well, we ought not to educate our kids any different.

Except -- surely not?

I mean, surely even a columnist for Townhall can't be saying that?

What else are we to make of these paragraphs:

Two years ago, the American Textbook Council studied seven widely adopted world history textbooks for grades seven to 12 and found that many hold Western civilization to a much higher standard than non-Western civilizations, especially Islam. Diane Ravitch, a historian of education, shows how textbooks distort by omission.

In her book, "The Language Police," she cites one text that observes how the Koran "sets harsh penalties for crimes such as stealing or murder," but does not explain that the "harsh penalties" include chopping off the hands of thieves, or that women adulterers are publicly stoned or beheaded in strict Islamic societies such as Saudi Arabia. In discussing "enhanced rights" for Muslim women, texts acknowledge that a man can have four wives, but note, approvingly, that he must support all four of them equally. This is progress, perhaps, but only from the eighth to the ninth century.

Many of the textbooks that Palestinian children use include Islamist messages that Israel and the United States must be destroyed because they are "the big and little Satans." Maps of the Middle East continue to omit Israel. Schools and communities continue to celebrate suicide bombers against both countries.

By contrast, Israeli school children are taught positive images of Islam and Arab culture. The Center for Monitoring the Impact of Peace, a nonpolitical, nonprofit organization, reviewed 360 Israeli textbooks and found them to focus on reconciliation, tolerance and peace without instigation toward hatred. Israeli textbooks aim to educate against stereotypes of "evil" Arabs and "bad" Muslims. The Israeli government actively supports "Seeds of Peace," a program that brings Arab and Jewish teenagers together with an emphasis on reducing prejudice before it matures and festers. President Bush praises it for bringing tomorrow's leaders together, "changing minds and hearts one person at a time."

So there you go. We need to stop trying to enlighten our kids -- after all, the evil Islamic worshippers aren't enlightening theirs -- and instead start teaching them that those who worship Allah are sub-human devils who deserve to be squashed like bugs, gassed like cockroaches, firebombed out of existence.

I guess that's what she's saying.

Anyone got a better reading?

2 comments:

zelda1 said...

Maybe that sums up the entire fundamentalists view of do unto others as you would have them do unto you, except they add, and if they don't do unto you then you squash and kill the little bastards. Knock their blocks off, teacch your children to do the same, afterall it's the other, the ones who are different, the ones who are heathen. I mean, if they kill us, then we owe it to those killed to kill the killers and forego the teachings of Jesus. I hate the war and which they would quit, I want the killing to stop. I also want children to be enlightened so they won't grow up to be warmongers and prejudiced freaks who think with their fists and not with their brains. Who is that woman anyway?

Anonymous said...

Actually from reading that column, I can't tell *what* Fields's opinion is on the issue. She flings out a bunch of facts, but doesn't really give an opinion until the last sentence, and that opinion doesn't seem to have anything to do with the rest of the column (the peace process isn't moving fast enough? Duh, lady).