Good and Bad Muslims and Christian America

As a Buddhist, I am not the enemy of Islamist extremists. As an American living in a major Eastern seaboard city where the symbols of capitalism were brought down by planes, I have a terrible feeling that they may not be content with the destruction they had delivered nearly four years ago and that I might find myself caught within the range of a suicide bomber's payload. All I can hope for is that the police and the Feds will catch them before they strike, or that "Good Muslims" will turn in the "Bad Muslims."

What is a "Good Muslim," anyway? Is it someone who loves America? Is he a law abiding citizen? Does he tolerate the evil acts of other extreme Muslims because he feels that America needs a good spanking every once in a while? Do they only live here long enough until they make enough money and then hope to return one day to some other land? Are they the hard working cops, doctors, lawyers and social workers who give their very best to help save the lives of other equally hard-working Americans? And most importantly, do they know any "Bad Muslims" hiding around the corner or purchsing fertilizers and electrical wires?

And if there is such a thing as a "Good Muslim" and a "Bad Muslim," are there not "Good Christians" and "Bad Christians" as well? And how can we tell them apart as well if we cannot do the same with the Muslims in our midst? Is Karl Rove a "Bad Christian" for making up lies about other Democrats who are also Christians? What about Pres. Bush? When he cuts benefits to poor Americans, is he a "Bad Christian?"

American politics is Christian based. Although there are Jewish, Muslim and Buddhist lawmakers, one must conclude that all the minority religious representatives together cannot match the Christian base. And it is among the Christian base that we must also be alert for "Bad Christians," those proverbial "wolves in sheep's clothing" who seek to expand their own power at the expense of poorer, weaker and/or easily manipulated "Good Christians." When will these "Good Christians" turn against their evil counterparts?

The sad part about life is that Evil is strong, devious, and ordinary in appearance. Good people find it difficult to believe that their leaders can take advantage of them and lead them to war, to commit heinous acts that, on the surface, should protect our freedoms but actually turn us into the very brutes and facists we seek to destroy. Evil knows that time is on its side because once a terrible act is committed, the tragedy can rarely, if ever, be stopped or overturned.

So I guess I'd like to really demonize Muslims, all of them, for the pain and suffering that the radicals have inflicted. But Christian America needs to apply the same focus and attention on its own demagogues and preachers who feast on their own flock...