X-Message-Number: 17570
Date: Sun, 16 Sep 2001 06:42:28 +0800 (CST)
From: =?big5?q?kurt2100kimo?= <>
Subject: Mike darwin and Islam

I read Mike Darwin's post about the attack on NYC and
I think that Ettinger is misunderstanding what Mike is
saying here. Mike has evidently spent considerable
time in the islamic middle-east and has come to the
conclusion, based on these experiences, that the
islamic world-view is inherently incompatible with the
Western-liberal world-view and that a major conflict
between the two is inevitable. What Mike is saying is
the exact opposite of what Ettinger claims he is
saying. Mike is a fervent believer in the the liberal
values of freedom and capitalism, as I am. He believes
that we will have to fight and defend these values
from those who do not share them and that it will be a
long, bloody, and difficult fight, but one that we
must win if any of us are to have the chance of an
indefinitely long life-span.

Since I have not spent much time in the Muslim world,
I cannot judge the validity of his argument about
Islam being incompatible with the West. However, if
his base argument is correct, which it may well be,
then the rest of his argument is logical corollary.

I have spent 10 years in the "orriental" part of Asia
(Japan, China, and Korea) and can tell you that these
people are becomming much more liberal, in general,
with time; and that they should be courted as allies
in the coming clash between value systems (if Mike is
right).

I will say one thing about Ettinger's response to
Mike. I may not like Mike's personality and disagree
with some of his methods. But to question his
commitment to progress, freedom, and capitalism is way
off base.

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