The Measure of Evil

I read a book a few years back that had a chapter addressing the cultural differences between us and Muslim extremists. Some people will argue that they simply want to live their life without the West interfering and that they are not evil, just completely misunderstood – that they perform attacks out of necessity because we continue to force our ways on them. Obviously a very liberal mindset, but I’ve heard the argument many, many times. The book made a point that stuck with me to this day.

The author said that the way they measure if a culture is evil is this: if one of our children (a white, suburban, middle-class child) were to show up on their door step, hungry, cold and needing shelter, what would their reaction be? If they were to follow suite with their religious mandate to destroy “infidels,” they would kill them on the spot. However, our culture would take them in, feed them, clothe them, and shelter them.

We are dealing with a culture that celebrates and worships evil to its very core. They find joy in murder, peace in destruction, and fulfillment in chaos. There is no reasoning, understanding or negotiating with them. There is no giving them the benefit of the doubt, or “examining the world through their eyes.” Pure evil must be stopped – aggressively, promptly and with purpose. Until our elected leaders understand this and value our national security over the way other nations perceive us, we will continue to suffer blows at the hands of cultures that worship evil.