Most of us Americans just don’t get it about Islam. A substantial number of Americans misperceive attitudes in the Islamic world toward US efforts to fight terrorism and its policies in the Middle East.
We have the idea that the Islamic world should like us and respect our right to defend ourselves. We seem to have a really hard time understanding that Islam is fundamentally opposed to everything we stand for. We want to believe that it is just another peaceful religion, something no more exotic than say Mormonism or Christian Science.
In one major poll of American attitudes, respondents were asked in August-September whether they thought "a majority of people in the Islamic world favor or oppose US-led efforts to fight terrorism." A plurality of 48% incorrectly assumed that a majority of Islamic people favor US led efforts to fight terrorism." Only 46% knew that they do not.
When asked whether respondents thought "a majority of people in the Islamic world think US policies in the Middle East make the region" more or less stable, 35% incorrectly assumed that the majority of people in the Islamic world feel that US policies make the region more stable, while 60% perceived correctly that most Muslims would see American efforts to fight terrorism as a disruptive influence.
The fact is that the vast majority of Muslims worldwide oppose our fighting terrorism.
The Pew Global Attitudes survey asked in seven countries with primarily Muslim populations (Turkey, Indonesia, Pakistan, Lebanon, Jordan, Kuwait, and Morocco, plus the Palestinian Authority): “Which of the following phrases comes closer to your view? I favor the US-led efforts to fight terrorism, or Ioppose the US-led efforts to fight terrorism.”
In six of the eight cases strong majorities-- ranging from 56-85% in summer 2002, and rising to 67-97% in May 2003--said they opposed “US-led efforts to fight terrorism.” In only one case—Kuwait in May 2003– did a majority say they favored US efforts. In the case of Pakistan, a plurality of 45% opposed US efforts in the summer of 2003, rising to 74% in May 2003.
The Pew Global Attitudes survey in May 2003 asked: “Do you think US policies in the Middle East make the region more stable or less stable?” In six of the eight cases, majorities said that US policies in the Middle East make the region less stable. These majorities ranged from 56% in Lebanon to 91% in Jordan. In Pakistan, 43% said US policies make the Middle East less
stable, but another 43% said US policies either “made no difference” (12%) or that they did not know (31%). Only in Kuwait, where American troops fought and died to drive Saddam Hussein out of their country did a 48% plurality say that US policies made the Middle East more stable.
I am troubled about American ignorance about what is really going on in the Middle East. In my view, civilization itself hangs in the balance. The plain truth is that we are at war with Islam.
Islam seeks to destroy everything in the world that is non-Islamic. This is not a pejorative statement, simply an accurate description of the nature of Islam. Anyone who reads the Koran honestly has to admit it. The great danger to our country is not so much Islam -- which has been fundamentally hostile to the ideas and ideals of individual freedom and democracy since its inception -- but that our ignorance and self-deception will prevent us from launching the aggressive self-defense needed to ensure the survival of Western Civilization. Right now, we have tens of thousands of heroic young men and women -- the kind we celebrate at www.ourfinest.org -- fighting for our freedom. But will we always?
That's my view. What do you think?
Saturday, August 30, 2008
Thursday, August 28, 2008
new radio PSA
Here is the latest radio spot that we will be sending out to raise public awareness of the needs of our wounded warriors. I'd be happy to get any comments/feedback positive or negative.
****************
60-seconds/173 words
Sun Tzu, author of the Art of War said that the supreme art of war is to subdue the enemy without fighting. This is Doctor Mark for Our Finest Dot Org and clearly we have not perfected the art of war, because in the war against Islamic terror, over 4,000 young Americans have died and 40,000 more have been seriously wounded. At Our Finest Dot Org, we honor the heroes who died in battle by caring for the wounded heroes who survived. They get the world’s best medical care at Walter Reed, but once they’re medically discharged, they are virtually abandoned. Their war is over, but their life and their fight has just begun. Their dream is our mission. When our country needed them, they stepped forward. Let’s do the same for them.
To learn what you can do to honor our sacred dead by supporting and caring for the heroic living, visit W W W Our Finest dot org. A public service announcement by our finest dot org and this patriotic station.
**********************
So what do you think?
Another issue I'm wrestling with is about whether or not to be purposefully controversial in order to generate attention. I am pretty much submerging my personal feelings to avoid controversy. If I were as outspoken as I feel about, for example, the true nature of Islam, it would probably bring viewers and readers, but I am not sure that this is either wise or prudent.
****************
60-seconds/173 words
Sun Tzu, author of the Art of War said that the supreme art of war is to subdue the enemy without fighting. This is Doctor Mark for Our Finest Dot Org and clearly we have not perfected the art of war, because in the war against Islamic terror, over 4,000 young Americans have died and 40,000 more have been seriously wounded. At Our Finest Dot Org, we honor the heroes who died in battle by caring for the wounded heroes who survived. They get the world’s best medical care at Walter Reed, but once they’re medically discharged, they are virtually abandoned. Their war is over, but their life and their fight has just begun. Their dream is our mission. When our country needed them, they stepped forward. Let’s do the same for them.
To learn what you can do to honor our sacred dead by supporting and caring for the heroic living, visit W W W Our Finest dot org. A public service announcement by our finest dot org and this patriotic station.
**********************
So what do you think?
Another issue I'm wrestling with is about whether or not to be purposefully controversial in order to generate attention. I am pretty much submerging my personal feelings to avoid controversy. If I were as outspoken as I feel about, for example, the true nature of Islam, it would probably bring viewers and readers, but I am not sure that this is either wise or prudent.
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
A low point
Today, I am at a somewhat low spot in my efforts to propel OurFinest.Org into the #1 position in service to America's wounded warriors.
It's not that I am really discouraged. In fact, I think I am pretty much discouragement proof. That is, I am going to press on so long as I have life and can wiggle a finger.
Feelings are not reality, so it does not matter really that I feel a little down. Everything just seems to take longer than I think it should, and so many things seem to take me away from what I want to spend my time and energy on.
Right now, I am typing this on the trunk of an old Lincoln parked in front of the used tire store where they are putting 3 tires on my truck. I just spent a few hours riding the bus and picking up the truck and have yet to get its windshield wipers reploaced so that I can get it registered. This seems a long way from doing what I want to be doing.
But there is an every-dayness to life that cannot be avoided. Someone said that life is what happens to you while you're getting ready to live your life. What really matters to me is that I do what I believe I am supposed to be doing. For now that is dealing with a truck I don't really want or need so that it won't get hauled away by the state.
On some very real level, I hate government. I really resent having to jump through senseless hoops because some special interest groups have managed to capture the government power to compel me to have a certain depth of tread on the tires of my vehicle or replace the windshield wipers. We have precious little time on this earth as it is without being forced to fritter it away in
meaningless ways. I am perfectly capable of wasting my own time without the government's help. I even have a city employee dedicated to making sure that the grass on my lawn does not exceed a certain height.
I wonder what the Founding Fathers would have thought about a government so intrusive into our lives. What is the threat to public disorder from my lawn looking shaggy?
I have to admit that sometimes I can understand all too well what goes on with the nut cases who go berserk and drive tanks over cars and through houses.
Our Constitution has been called a conspiracy against government. I wish it were a more successful conspiracy. It seems to me that the fundamental right is the right to be left alone, to simply live one’s life. That right is honored more in the breech than the fact today.
Yet, as Tony Soprano often wonders aloud, “What are you going to do?” This is still the greatest country on earth. I am proud that I served in America’s military. I am proud my son did as well.
And right now I am especially proud of a chance to serve those who were wounded in defense of freedom. I am proud to carry their shield.
A bright spot today is that a new volunteer, Diana Ringer, has done something that I've wanted done for weeks and weeks: link this blog to the OurFinest.Org website. Who knows, some day someone might actually read this and respond.
It's not that I am really discouraged. In fact, I think I am pretty much discouragement proof. That is, I am going to press on so long as I have life and can wiggle a finger.
Feelings are not reality, so it does not matter really that I feel a little down. Everything just seems to take longer than I think it should, and so many things seem to take me away from what I want to spend my time and energy on.
Right now, I am typing this on the trunk of an old Lincoln parked in front of the used tire store where they are putting 3 tires on my truck. I just spent a few hours riding the bus and picking up the truck and have yet to get its windshield wipers reploaced so that I can get it registered. This seems a long way from doing what I want to be doing.
But there is an every-dayness to life that cannot be avoided. Someone said that life is what happens to you while you're getting ready to live your life. What really matters to me is that I do what I believe I am supposed to be doing. For now that is dealing with a truck I don't really want or need so that it won't get hauled away by the state.
On some very real level, I hate government. I really resent having to jump through senseless hoops because some special interest groups have managed to capture the government power to compel me to have a certain depth of tread on the tires of my vehicle or replace the windshield wipers. We have precious little time on this earth as it is without being forced to fritter it away in
meaningless ways. I am perfectly capable of wasting my own time without the government's help. I even have a city employee dedicated to making sure that the grass on my lawn does not exceed a certain height.
I wonder what the Founding Fathers would have thought about a government so intrusive into our lives. What is the threat to public disorder from my lawn looking shaggy?
I have to admit that sometimes I can understand all too well what goes on with the nut cases who go berserk and drive tanks over cars and through houses.
Our Constitution has been called a conspiracy against government. I wish it were a more successful conspiracy. It seems to me that the fundamental right is the right to be left alone, to simply live one’s life. That right is honored more in the breech than the fact today.
Yet, as Tony Soprano often wonders aloud, “What are you going to do?” This is still the greatest country on earth. I am proud that I served in America’s military. I am proud my son did as well.
And right now I am especially proud of a chance to serve those who were wounded in defense of freedom. I am proud to carry their shield.
A bright spot today is that a new volunteer, Diana Ringer, has done something that I've wanted done for weeks and weeks: link this blog to the OurFinest.Org website. Who knows, some day someone might actually read this and respond.
Tuesday, August 5, 2008
Business Plan
I want to use this blog for planning, to help capture in black and white nice digitized text what I'm thinking and planning for OurFinest.Org. Eventually, I take on faith, others will notice what I'm doing and want to help and this record will help them figure out what I am doing right and wrong and how I can do it better I guess you're not leading if no one is following, but I'm not too worried about that right now.
I know what I am doing is the right thing, so I am going to do it, and those who want to help will just have to catch up. Doesn't sound like a very good model of leadership, but I understand that the motto of the U.S. Infantry is "Follow me." Or maybe it's that you lead from in front. Either way, I am riding point.
My supreme priority is to help the wounded warrior. I am not nearly so charitable as I would like myself to be.
I have not nearly so much patience as I should with people who lie down before life's struggles. I want to help people, but I am mostly interested in helping those who want to help themselves.
The wounded warrior is someone who was walking into danger when he was struck down.
That's hardly someone lying down because life struck them a hard blow. When they were injured, they were part of an elite fighting force.
Suddenly, in an instant they were torn apart, their entire future altered radically.
I have no idea how I would handle losing arms or legs. I hope I never find out. The way I HOPE I would handle it is dealing with it as it is. I hope that I would not collapse into a black hole of self pity. But no guarantees here.
No getting around it; it would be awful. Suddenly, you're a cripple and disfigured. Here are you fighting for your country -- doing one of the noblest things possible -- and then you are someone people stare at in the mall, someone who is no longer totally independent, but someone who needs the help of others. To some, you are an object of pity.
It's got to be one of the toughest things in life to deal with. It is a total upheaval in your life. A hard part of it, it seems to me, is that you are suddenly without the entire social support network your buddies provided. You are thrown into the company of a bunch of other injured soldiers.
Then there's the pain.
A lot of guys have to be asking themselves, "Why me?" If there is a loving God in charge of my life, how and why did he let this happen to me?
What I've finally figured out is that a better question is "Why not me?" Why should I be immune from the suffering that is a part of every life? We are here on earth for a reason, and part of that reason is to figure out why we are here.
A profound injury seems to me to be a crucial point in life. The meaning and impact of the trauma depends to a large degree on the attitude of the person.
The one thing we are in charge of in our life is our attitude. We cannot control what happens to us, but we can control our philosophical attitude towards what happens to us.
No one choose to be devastated by a horrendous injury. But every warrior in the war against terror is a volunteer. He knew that he was choosing a dangerous path with death and dismemberment a real prospect. He did not choose this fate, but he chose a way of life that presented the very real chance of such a fate.
He wasn't walking along a country lane back home when he got his legs blown off. He was
fighting a war for his country. He has every right to cry for the loss of his legs or eyes or arms. But that loss was a known risk which he chose. He chose the way of the warrior, and he cannot cry for that.
So, I believe that the stricken warrior has no right to blame God. In war, it is inevitable that some die and that some are terribly injured. Those who died have no problems to worry about. Those who survived profound injury do have a problem. Their main problem is to determine their attitude towards their injuries. This decision will determine the rest of their life and its meaning.
I know what I am doing is the right thing, so I am going to do it, and those who want to help will just have to catch up. Doesn't sound like a very good model of leadership, but I understand that the motto of the U.S. Infantry is "Follow me." Or maybe it's that you lead from in front. Either way, I am riding point.
My supreme priority is to help the wounded warrior. I am not nearly so charitable as I would like myself to be.
I have not nearly so much patience as I should with people who lie down before life's struggles. I want to help people, but I am mostly interested in helping those who want to help themselves.
The wounded warrior is someone who was walking into danger when he was struck down.
That's hardly someone lying down because life struck them a hard blow. When they were injured, they were part of an elite fighting force.
Suddenly, in an instant they were torn apart, their entire future altered radically.
I have no idea how I would handle losing arms or legs. I hope I never find out. The way I HOPE I would handle it is dealing with it as it is. I hope that I would not collapse into a black hole of self pity. But no guarantees here.
No getting around it; it would be awful. Suddenly, you're a cripple and disfigured. Here are you fighting for your country -- doing one of the noblest things possible -- and then you are someone people stare at in the mall, someone who is no longer totally independent, but someone who needs the help of others. To some, you are an object of pity.
It's got to be one of the toughest things in life to deal with. It is a total upheaval in your life. A hard part of it, it seems to me, is that you are suddenly without the entire social support network your buddies provided. You are thrown into the company of a bunch of other injured soldiers.
Then there's the pain.
A lot of guys have to be asking themselves, "Why me?" If there is a loving God in charge of my life, how and why did he let this happen to me?
What I've finally figured out is that a better question is "Why not me?" Why should I be immune from the suffering that is a part of every life? We are here on earth for a reason, and part of that reason is to figure out why we are here.
A profound injury seems to me to be a crucial point in life. The meaning and impact of the trauma depends to a large degree on the attitude of the person.
The one thing we are in charge of in our life is our attitude. We cannot control what happens to us, but we can control our philosophical attitude towards what happens to us.
No one choose to be devastated by a horrendous injury. But every warrior in the war against terror is a volunteer. He knew that he was choosing a dangerous path with death and dismemberment a real prospect. He did not choose this fate, but he chose a way of life that presented the very real chance of such a fate.
He wasn't walking along a country lane back home when he got his legs blown off. He was
fighting a war for his country. He has every right to cry for the loss of his legs or eyes or arms. But that loss was a known risk which he chose. He chose the way of the warrior, and he cannot cry for that.
So, I believe that the stricken warrior has no right to blame God. In war, it is inevitable that some die and that some are terribly injured. Those who died have no problems to worry about. Those who survived profound injury do have a problem. Their main problem is to determine their attitude towards their injuries. This decision will determine the rest of their life and its meaning.
visiting wounded warriors
I'm excited. Just got off the telephone with Sergeant Brian Pierce at Walter Reed Medical Center. He is the hospital's guy who arranges visits to wounded warriors. My first opportunity to visit with them is at 11 a.m. August 18th.
I'm pleased that OurFinest.Org gets "official visit" status. They have reserved a parking spot for me at the army hospital and an ambassador will meet me and get me oriented and introduced.
I want to thank God for giving me this opportunity to serve those who have sacrificed so much for our country. I am very grateful for the chance to perhaps make a difference in the lives of young people who deserve the best.
It's odd how much I appreciate the chance to serve military veterans who have been injured. I have never been very generous to official charities. In fact, I've probably not been very generous at all. I have walked by many begging evidently homeless people. I confess to exchanging harsh words with a young male begging on the street in downtown Washington who said something rude when I didn't give him any money. He looked perfectly strong and healthy to me and jumped up ready to fight when I suggested that he "go get a job."
But when it comes to injured troops and helping veterans who went in harm's way for their nation, it's a different thing. These are guys I KNOW need help and deserve not just charity but a helping hand.
I'm also excited about the TV commercial that Jim Draper and Ruthy Stapleton and I are putting together. It is really neat that technology has advanced to the point that from our home computers we can collaborate to produce a low cost and effective TV commercial. We are going to be able to distribute the 30-second PSA (public service announcement) to the top 200 stations in the country.
We are also writing and distributing 30-second radio spots to send to the nation's 10,000 radio stations.
The idea is to make people aware that our wounded heroes need help, that once they are discharged from the Walter Reed Medical Center, they are almost entirely on their own. The 30 second PSAs will invite people to visit our website (www.OurFinest.Org) where they will learn more about the need and what they can do to help. I hope their interaction with the community I am seeking to organize there will make them want to communicate with these veterans.
Other things I am working on: writing grant proposals and thinking how to recruit thousands of people to each help get one of these wounded veterans a job. While physically handicapped, these wounded warriors have wonderful qualities of character that make them great employees and -- I believe -- terrific candidates as entrepreneurs as well.
I'm pleased that OurFinest.Org gets "official visit" status. They have reserved a parking spot for me at the army hospital and an ambassador will meet me and get me oriented and introduced.
I want to thank God for giving me this opportunity to serve those who have sacrificed so much for our country. I am very grateful for the chance to perhaps make a difference in the lives of young people who deserve the best.
It's odd how much I appreciate the chance to serve military veterans who have been injured. I have never been very generous to official charities. In fact, I've probably not been very generous at all. I have walked by many begging evidently homeless people. I confess to exchanging harsh words with a young male begging on the street in downtown Washington who said something rude when I didn't give him any money. He looked perfectly strong and healthy to me and jumped up ready to fight when I suggested that he "go get a job."
But when it comes to injured troops and helping veterans who went in harm's way for their nation, it's a different thing. These are guys I KNOW need help and deserve not just charity but a helping hand.
I'm also excited about the TV commercial that Jim Draper and Ruthy Stapleton and I are putting together. It is really neat that technology has advanced to the point that from our home computers we can collaborate to produce a low cost and effective TV commercial. We are going to be able to distribute the 30-second PSA (public service announcement) to the top 200 stations in the country.
We are also writing and distributing 30-second radio spots to send to the nation's 10,000 radio stations.
The idea is to make people aware that our wounded heroes need help, that once they are discharged from the Walter Reed Medical Center, they are almost entirely on their own. The 30 second PSAs will invite people to visit our website (www.OurFinest.Org) where they will learn more about the need and what they can do to help. I hope their interaction with the community I am seeking to organize there will make them want to communicate with these veterans.
Other things I am working on: writing grant proposals and thinking how to recruit thousands of people to each help get one of these wounded veterans a job. While physically handicapped, these wounded warriors have wonderful qualities of character that make them great employees and -- I believe -- terrific candidates as entrepreneurs as well.
Saturday, August 2, 2008
reaching out
I'm excited about the progress we're making in getting broadcast coverage of our message. I've found and ordered an excellent microphone for under $100 that I can plug into my computer's USB and record broadcast quality radio spots plus podcasts. We are making progress in building a database of contact information for sending Public Service Announcements (PSA's).
The goal is to duplicate the effect of a multi-million dollar national broadcasting campaign reaching tens of millions of Americans, attracting them to our website (www.ourfinest.org), getting them to volunteer and donate.
I'm also pretty pleased about how our first TV spot is shaping up. It looks like Getty Images is going to give us a deep discount on the standard footage I am using for the spot.
If this works as I hope, we will have an excellent outreach program without having to spend a lot of money raising money. I want all the cash donated to go directly to the veterans.
I'm also pleased at progress in building a super board of directors. Dr. Herb London, President of the Hudson Institute, has agreed to serve and we are wooing Secretary James Nicholason, former Ambassador to the Vatican and head of the Veterans Administration.
Other things I'm working on: getting together a grant proposal team, deeply enhancing the website so that it supports a dynamic online community. Lots to do and I am finding it enormously rewarding though I am impatient for vast results!
Next week, I'll make a call to the chaplain at Walter Reed Medical Center and find out the best way to visit these guys.
The goal is to duplicate the effect of a multi-million dollar national broadcasting campaign reaching tens of millions of Americans, attracting them to our website (www.ourfinest.org), getting them to volunteer and donate.
I'm also pretty pleased about how our first TV spot is shaping up. It looks like Getty Images is going to give us a deep discount on the standard footage I am using for the spot.
If this works as I hope, we will have an excellent outreach program without having to spend a lot of money raising money. I want all the cash donated to go directly to the veterans.
I'm also pleased at progress in building a super board of directors. Dr. Herb London, President of the Hudson Institute, has agreed to serve and we are wooing Secretary James Nicholason, former Ambassador to the Vatican and head of the Veterans Administration.
Other things I'm working on: getting together a grant proposal team, deeply enhancing the website so that it supports a dynamic online community. Lots to do and I am finding it enormously rewarding though I am impatient for vast results!
Next week, I'll make a call to the chaplain at Walter Reed Medical Center and find out the best way to visit these guys.
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