If Evil Exists

By Roy D. Follendore III

April 3, 2002

If evil exists then there is an awful evil taking place in the middle east right now. The State of Israel is wrong in their attacks on the Palestinians, and the United States is wrong for supporting Israel's attacks. The news reporters are wrong for not covering and condemning both the state supported Palestinian suicide attacks, and the Israel invasion and murders with equal vigor. I believe that CBS polls that report support for Israel 5 to 1 are invalid. It is easy to change such polling statistics simply by changing the nature of the question. There is a bias in the reporting taking place.

This middle eastern problem is an excellent example of all of the reasons why religious based governments do not work. America had the answer when our founders created the United States Constitution. No country including the United States, the State of Israel or the proposed state of Palestine has a right to exist without equal secular representation of the people. People should rule, not religions. Religion has no place in politics. The moment that a religion restricts the basic freedoms, including political representation, then it is in violation of human rights. Any religion who does so, stands with the side of the notorious wrongdoers in history.

It is for this reason that it is time for Israel to change their style of government. It is time for both Israel and Muslim countries to be inclusive rather than exclusive. It is time to embrace change rather than reject it. If Israel continues on the path they have chosen the result will be worse then the failures of the government of South Africa. The indigenous people of a land have every right to exist and more than that, they have a right to thrive.

Having said all of this from an individual American perspective, there is one obvious missing religious group within this political puzzle who have a stake in all of this and who now have a chance to make a difference. For once it is the Christians who may be able to help find peace and justice. The Pope spoke out today. Let us hope that he will use his influence to unite all Christians into a consensus that after decades, Palestinians should no longer be forced to live in refugee camps. It is the evil of human despair that is fueling the fire of this war.

The best choice of two evils remains an evil at best. Peace must be enforced by the United Nations. Unqualified military support for warring factions who choose to disregard the moral ground should not be supported by any civilized country.

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