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| Mr. Yates |
The Crusades Rage On by Cooper Yates The battle between Christians and Muslims began in the seventh century and extended into the Crusades (1095- 1271), one hundred and seventy six years. But have the Crusades really ended? History reveals an ongoing cycle of subjugation of peoples by and upon all races. To understand this we need to perceive current world events from a fluid historical perspective and realize that history isn't winding down, history is not static and continues to evolve; history hasn't ended yet and the Crusades still rage on. For Americans, Jews and the rest of the world to consider Arabs-Islam the bad guys is as myopic and misleading as it would be for Americans, Jews and the rest of the world to regard Columbus and Spain as the good guys. The fact is, Columbus was a murdering butcher and in the year fourteen hundred and ninety-two, while the Crusades put an end to the Arab-Islamic rule in Spain--with the expulsion of Spain's Muslims and Jews--the persecution in the Americas continued as an extension of the Catholic Church's campaign against non-Christians. Columbus ministered the slaughter and enslaving of the indigenous peoples of Central and South America, including the indigenous inhabitants on the islands of Haiti, Cuba, Puerto Rico, Jamaica, the Antilles and the Bahamas. The King and Queen of Spain wrote Columbus a letter for delivery basically announcing to the indigenous peoples that if they didn't convert to Christianity they would be annihilated. In fact, thirteen Arawak people were regularly hung at ceremonies which Columbus said were in memory of "Our Redeemer, and His twelve Apostles." Then there was the massacre and enslavement of the North American Indians by European colonists; so who are the good guys? The annihilation of the indigenous peoples of the Americas was not connected with the Muslims persecuting the Christians and even though the Christians suffered at the hands of the Muslims they themselves began a systematic butchery of the indigenous peoples of Central America. And now the Jews are attempting to exterminate the Palestinians the way the Germans attempted to exterminate the Jews. And lets not forget that many Jews took part in decimating the Russians during the Bolshevik Revolution; a historical past I'm sure the Jews would like everyone to forget. If one waits long enough, the persecuted will indeed become the persecutors. If one views global events from an ongoing historical perspective--as if history is still in motion--one realizes that the Crusades are continuing. The official Crusades ended in 1271 but began again with Columbus and the European colonist to the cold war and the current "War on Terrorism." During the cold war a crusade for geopolitical power took place in the United States which spawned--what Eisenhower referred to as--the Military Industrial Complex. There was an expansive arms escalation in anticipation of a war against Communism and perceived threats by countries like Cuba, China, Russia, Korea and Vietnam. With communism in check, the US set in motion aggressive geopolitical strategies for direct and/or indirect military control or influence of various countries in the pursuit of the domination of resources, politically favorable administrations and the establishment and control of transport routes involving countries such as Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq and more recently, Yugoslavia, Macedonia and Chechnya. Israel's geopolitical significance has provided the US with an extended military base in the Middle East and in turn, Israel utilizes its symbiotic relationship with the US for its own agenda to exterminate the Palestinians. So Israel is clearly an extension of the current US imperialistic crusade for the control of oil and transport routes under the guise of protection from terrorism on behalf of the US and Israel, in the name of an Anglo-American-Jewish version of world Christianity. All throughout history, atrocities have been committed by and upon all races of peoples. When one fails to perceives history as an evolution in process and views current global events in the context of the present moment, as an isolated phenomenon, one views the participants and the events like a photograph instead of a moving picture. This type of perspective does not set apart the more important issue; an acceptance and understanding of the repeated cycle of oppression guilty by all; the real issue is the oppression itself. The Arawak and Taino peoples of Central America are all but gone, but the struggle involving indigenous peoples continues today as it does in Palestine. All indigenous peoples are still battling for land and self- determination, where peoples are fighting for the right to live on their land, to speak their languages, to practice their religions, to govern themselves and to live with dignity. But to accomplish a just and peaceful equality for indigenous peoples, an important principle must be understood and applied. People that hate war will not bring peace. People that love peace will bring peace and it is only when all young men refuse to go to war and refuse to fight that peace and equality can take place simultaneously. |