I'm guilty of not knowing much about Islam myself. But I feel that the "spiritual centeredness" Berman praises is skewed by its unfair treatment of women, simplistic punishments for crimes, and failure to separate church and state. We should know more about Muslims as trading partners and fellow inhabitants of the globe, yes. Unfortunately Bush & Co have made it necessary for us to understand them as enemies.
But I think Berman is preachy. I don't personally feel that I or my friends or the way we do things are "out of balance," at least not in a way that can't be fixed (through increased consciousness of our place in the ecosystem etc). Maybe Berman should become a rabbi. Anyway, I'm just struck by the contradiction between his pleas to understand the Moslem world and calls to go in and "fix" it militarily.
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But I think Berman is preachy. I don't personally feel that I or my friends or the way we do things are "out of balance," at least not in a way that can't be fixed (through increased consciousness of our place in the ecosystem etc). Maybe Berman should become a rabbi. Anyway, I'm just struck by the contradiction between his pleas to understand the Moslem world and calls to go in and "fix" it militarily.
- tom moody 3-24-2003 6:37 pm