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OUTRAGEOUS 7Click here for an index of all OUTRAGEOUS Segments Sharon's Outrageous The Entertainment Industry Big Brother is Indeed Watching! Ethnic Cleansing Ethnic Cleansing is the systematic removal of an ethnic group from the population of a particular area. This may be done through genocide (mass killing) or forced migration, by opposing ethnic or religious groups. The term was 'popularized' in the mainstream as describing the activities of Serbs against Croatians and Muslims in Yugoslavia. Crimes rooted in ethnic hatred are bias crimes. A hate crime is committed when someone vandalizes your property, uses or threatens to use violence against you because of who you are or what you believe in. Hate crimes can be described as aggressive acts directed against an individual, group of people or organization because of their race, religion, national origin, disabilitiy, gender or position on or activity related to an issue. An example of the latter would be the Animal Liberation Front which burns down facilities where testing on animals are performed. History has too many examples of bias or hate crimes...the holocaust of the Jews and extermination of the mentally and phyically disabled in Hitler's Germany; the 20,000 Albanians that were used as human shields against NATO bombs, Kosovo, the Ukraine, the Kurds, Christians in Indonesia, the Sudan. The list goes on and on, to mankind's shame...both those who commit these crimes and those who do nothing about them. Eugenics first came about in Germany as the brainchild of doctors to "purify" the German race of undesirables. The first gas chamber was the design of professors of psychiatry from major German universities. Patients of mental hospitals were the first victims, then pediatricians joined rank and handicapped children became the second. By 1945 they were euthanising "bed-wetters, children with misshapen ears, and those with learning disabilities," as reported in The German Euthanasia Program, Wertham, Hayes Publishing 1977, p. 47. Mass deportation often leads to mass extermination. Hitler's death camps were really 'plan B' for the Jews. 'Plan A' was to deport them to re-settle somewhere else. But 'plan B' prevailed. The founder of Hamas, Ahmed Yassin, speaking in a German magazine told of his rejection of a "continued existence of Israel next to the independent Palestinian state." Sheikh Yassin is the spiritual leader of the largest and most militant of all the Palestinian groups fighting the Israeli occupation, and when the magazine reporter asked if there was no place at all for the Jewish state he said, "They could set up a state in Europe," and that the Hamas resistance would continue until the Israeli occupation was ended. Yasser Arafat said, “The goal of our struggle is the end of Israel, and there can be no compromises or mediators…we don’t want peace – we want victory. Peace for us means Israel’s destruction and nothing else.” Bias is the height of arrogance, which supposes oneself or one's
race or ability or existence to be of greater value than another's. No one can control the attitude of another...and often another's hate-filled actions are beyond control. But which is the greater crime...the act itself or the failure to try stop it? This is the question that must be asked on several fronts today. Fallen Leaders Sex Scandals, misappropriations of funds and cover-ups…all eventually lead to fallen idols. Whether it’s in the church, business, government, Hollywood, or in the home, one thing is for sure when these things occur someone falls off the pedestal. We have watched the falling of many idols in recent years. Whether it's Bill Clinton, Catholic priests, Marthan Stewart, Michael Jackson and his sister Janet Jackson, or others the uncovering of such crimes or sins also reveals whether we have idolized someone. They fall and we are shaken. The degree we are shaken also reveals the height to which we elevated them and the power we've given them in our lives. There are few things that can be as troubling as finding out that someone you looked up to, put your trust in, believed in has committed some shameful act. Usually we are clueless that we have idolized someone. There can be several reactions when an idol falls. One of the most common reactions is denial. Denial is powerful. It basically is lying to yourself. You know, like smoking and telling yourself you would never get cancer. We make excuses, blame shift, anything but accept the truth about the situation. The other most common reaction is devastation and loss of trust, not just in the person you had on the pedestal, but in the institution they represent, others in the same profession, and in yourself. Yes, it can result in a self doubt that can follow you for years. How can you trust yourself to discern and not be deceived again? When a Hollywood idol falls we may be disappointed but shrug it off because while movie and music stars are often the object of man’s idolizing, it’s not because of their purity. When someone in government falls, this can be extremely disappointing, result in anger, a “no” vote next time around, and also apathy and cynicism. When it happens in the church it carries much more weight, for the church, everyone knows, is suppose to be clean, trustworthy and willing to expose the truth no matter what. So when moral failure occurs in church leaders, we can be shaken pretty hard. Though not as hard as if it were a family member, but close. We look for those who will stand for the right regardless of the consequences. When this is not done and cover-ups and denials occur we lose heart and walk away disillusioned. Sadly to say, this happens all too often. So, what is the answer? Well, what I have learned is there is only One who will never fall, who I can safely put on the pedestal...and that is God. When He is in His rightful place in my life I can see and deal with all the failures life may bring, in truth and forgiveness…it’s the only way I have found not to be shaken. -Promted thoughts from my interview with Dr. Lee Podles, which you can hear online at http://www.oneplace.com/ministries/changing_worldviews/Archives.asp
Permission is granted to print or copy the OUTRAGEOUS Segment only if used in its entirety and credit is given to the author, listing Changing Worldviews' name, address, email and website. |
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