If you don't like it stop reading

     At 6 am this morning I realized no sleep was coming to me. Andrew had been awake off and on with his awful cough (I can't believe he is almost a year old). Kaitlyn was asleep in our bed, constantly contorting into a position that allowed her to kick me in the head no matter how many times I righted her... and I got to thinking. Thinking about my kids, and the future of their world.
     I read an essay today that really moved me, it is by a man named Qasim Rashid, a man who truly has my respect... please don't continue with my blog until you have read the link.
     http://thisibelieve.org/essay/84654/
     What I didn't know before I started this whole blog thing is that there are 4 types of Muslims, kind of like Catholic vs. Baptist vs. Church of Christ. There is the Sunni comprising somewhere around 80% of Muslims. The Shi'a... about 10% of Muslims. The Sufi, which are like a mystic movement in the Muslim community, like the Kabbalah and Judaism. There are also the Amadiyya Muslims, their motto seems to be Peace for All, Hate for None. Unfortunately they suffer great persecution because in their home of Pakistan they aren't considered 'real' Muslims. These are the basic basics as I understand them. I think it must sometimes be sad to be one of the Amadiyya Muslims though, persecuted in your home country, and in America where people lump you in with the terrorist set, especially if your skin happens to be brown.
     When I grew up I was sheltered from most of the hate in the world, and I am thankful for this. It is hard however to go to sleep as a child in a accepting, hopeful, loving country, and to wake as an adult in the bigoted, hateful, scared place America has become. It hurts me because I love this country so much.
     There is hope out there though, hope that our next set of leaders will be led by God, and not just use him as another stepping stone to get into office. Hope that more people like the man who wrote that essay are out there, writing, and praying, to whatever God they believe in, and in whatever way they believe they should. Praying that the pen really is mightier than the sword.
     I hope my children wake up as adults in a world where the government doesn't make all our decisions for us, like who should be allowed to get married. Into a country where your skin color doesn't matter, after all how long have we been fighting that same battle. I'm scared that the return to extreme racism is right around the corner, the difference will be the skin pigmentation of the people drinking out of the 'colored' water fountain. A segregation of religion along with color may be coming.
     I am no one, I never have been, I try to be a good person, but I don't even give that 100% of the time. It seems to me though that the meaning of having good morals has been lost, and that other Christians are reading a different Bible than I am, because we have been showing people our worst side. Why would people want to be Christian when we show them alcoholism, drug use, promiscuity, hatefulness, bigotry, pride, and a number of other sins.
     In this country fear mongering has taken the place of kindness and hope. I don't want to sit in a drum circle and sing Kumbaya, but I'm worried that if this crap continues one day my kids will wake up in a place where people are having to hide behind bookcases in secret rooms like Anne Frank.

                                                   First they came for the communists,

                                                     and I didn't speak out because I wasn't a communist.

                                                                   Then they came for the trade unionists,
                                                   and I didn't speak out because I wasn't a trade unionist.

                                                                       Then they came for the Jews,
                                                     and I didn't speak out because I wasn't a Jew.

                                                                           Then they came for me
                                                            and there was no one left to speak out for me.

This is a famous statement made during the Nazi rise to power, and it still speaks volumes. Christian persecution (even by other Christians) is just a blink away, and if we don't stand up for others, then why would they ever stand up for us...


                                                                                                                                                           Sara