Notes From Jon

I usually wait to post my Speaking of Faith articles after they’ve been published, but I’ve come to realize that most folks who will read this blog will probably not read the paper, and vise-versa.  So I guess it’s OK to pre-post this article… it will likely appear in next week’s Kenbridge-Victoria Dispatch.

An Angry Email

In the last couple of weeks, my inbox has seen a flood of patriotic forwards.  Perhaps they were sparked by a combination of Memorial Day, increased tensions in the Middle East, and the approaching final leg of the presidential contest.  Whatever the reason, political fervor is at an all-time high – and you can tell by the kinds of things that are going around on the internet.

One email in particular has caught my attention.  I’ve gotten it three times now, from three very different people.  It’s supposedly written by a ticked-off housewife in New Jersey… who, by the way, chose to remain anonymous.  The writer rants and raves against anyone who has criticized the many scandals that have plagued the US military in Iraq – the Abu Ghraib scandal, treatment of prisoners at Guantanamo Bay, mishandling of the Quran, and various extreme torture tactics.  She calls Muslims and Iraqis cowards, thugs, and fanatics. Read the rest of this entry »