Hi all
​Today is a sad day in Oklahoma. Today was the 23rd memorial for the Oklahoma City bombing that took the lives of 168 innocent men, women and children. What makes me sad the most is that it was a sensless selfish act by one individual. The word hate is used today in a general term, I hate this I hate that. Have you ever really looked at the word hate and its meaning. Hate according the the definitions I read and they vary but I am going to give the generic meaning. It is used as a verb Hate: Feel intense or passionate dislike for someone. Key word is the word someone. The other meaning is a noun. Hate: intense or passionate dislike for something. Now they say that the unibomber had a hate for the workings of government. So the bombing was done with the second meaning of hate. Now what causes that kind of hate? I often have wondered about how the human mind works, was it teaching, was it watching, what caused so much hate that 168 lives were not important enough that a building that was considered a government building was destroyed and the aftermath was not important. Makes a person wonder why do we have wars? Do we have them because of hate? do we have them to uphold a value? do we have them because we feel that an unjustice was done by a person, group, country. Makes you really wonder. I know this is not a popular topic but it is a reality in life now. We have terroristic acts all over the world that are based on a teaching, now that teaching can be a difference in religious belief, cultural belief, values. Again there is no set reason why we have wars other then that they are a defined purpose of who ever is involved with that particular event. People are taught from an early age to either accept or reject certain people or cultures because they do not agree with what is considered the norm for that particular culture. Example the United States went into Iraq because they took over a country for its wealths. But is that really why we went to war? I think that there are so many things going on to cause one nation to go into war with another or take the chance of going to war with another country. Now what the difference is that in a war you know what your directive is and what you hope to gain. You have certain goals to achieve. But the bombing in Oklahoma City was not a war it was a personal attack by an individual against a government that he did not like. Terrorism is catagorized as the act of an individual or group to cause havoc against another group, government, individual. Most terrorist are taught from an early age to hate something, many times they dont really even understand why they hate it but they do because they were taught from an early age to hate that particular individual, group or government. Now can you catagorize the action of an individual who over the years learned to dislike the overall values of a government to a point of not seeing a way to change it without violence and destruction? I dont think it qualifies as in the overall meaning of terrorism. But he did an act of terrorism on a community that had not done anything to him personally. He was found in a rural area 10 years or longer after the bombing. He was not a terrorist in the terms of how they are used today, but he was a terrorist in his thoughts and actions.
​I lost a son in an act of terrorism by one country to another. We have learned over the last 10 to 15 years that if someone does not agree with a value or a culture of another group of people that it is ok to force your beliefs on them. This is not a new process this has been going on for ages upon ages. Look at the holy wars. One religion thought it was superior to anothers religion so the answer was to go into that country and wipe out that religion. The only way you can wipe out a belief is to wipe out a civilization of living individuals. But when you read history not once did it say that those wars were acts of terrorism. Does it not terrorize people when they are being conquered because they dont have the same belief as you have? I know it is terrorism. Why should we hate what another thinks, why do we take it upon ourselves to put something down that we do not live in at the time, why are we so full of hate towards the unknown? I cant answer that because we are programmed to dislike something our culture thinks is wrong and to hate the thinking and ideals of those not in our frame of mind. America and I use America as an example because I live in this country, I cant say how Australia is or Canada or China or Russia or the middle east countries. But seems we all hate each other for something we dont even as individuals understand. Want a prime example of hating because of a teaching, go into a religious or political chat room and say something that is not with the main stream of thinking in that particular chat room and watch the outgoing hateful statement directed at the individual making the statement or thier own opinion. My feeling is this hate is not natural it is taught to every person alive. How I handle it is what makes it become just an attitude or an action of terrorism.
​I read a quote once and it fits this so well and if you really read what it says you will understand why there is so much misunderstanding or hate even if it is not a violent type of hate that causes us to do actions against another. The quote has to do with the mind.
​A 3rd rate mind is happy when it thinks with the majority. A 2nd rate mind is happy when it thinks with the minority. A 1st rate mind is happiest when it just thinks.
​That quote seems trivial enough but if you look at it and think about it, it really says a reality in our thinking. Political thinking is very much like that quote as is religious thinking. Please understand that what I am saying is the opinion that I hold. It is not based on the opinions of others. I find that as I grow older I tend to think more I take past experiences and watching the changings of things happening in the world.
​I hope you all have a great day and I hope I have not upset or offended anyone in any way. Like I said it is an opinion not a stated fact.
​Robert
