The new pan-Arab Muslim caliphate in forming
seems to have thrown the establishment and everyday Americans for a loop. While far too complex to delve into in a few
lines, here’s some points to consider, although, like many such ponderings, it
might make you uncomfortable:
1. When populations are kept in poverty and
ignorance, the simplistic appeal of those with certainty and
determination/fanaticism will increase.
It isn’t all about terrorism or fear.
2. When divisions and sectarianism predominate,
“us against them” can get a population to overlook much.
3. When “Great” powers are content with, or even
foment, local strongmen or the corrupt instead of justice, they earn the
disdain of the oppressed.
4. When “Great” powers intervene, and especially
when they intervene arrogantly and with little knowledge, care, or respect, let
alone whether the intervention is even warranted, the second and third order
effects they create can sometimes be gargantuan and disastrous.
5. When those who are dismissed as merely
fanatics or terrorists get basic services (electricity, water, transportation)
to consistently and reliably work for a population, you don’t have to have
in-depth knowledge of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs to understand why a populace
might give tacit support.
6. Movements, even deeply flawed or questionable
movements, don’t grow by terrorism and fear alone; look to the above for some
reasons why they can be strong and why those who oppose them may not be.
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