We didn't light the fire

It was always burning, but is it burning out?
(ooo, there's so many good things you could write about with a title like that!)

Unfortunately, as John Stuart Mil discusses in his book "On Liberty"; "Once the doctrine has taken its place, if not as a received opinion, as one of the admitted sects or divisions of opinion; those who hold it have generally inherited, not adopted it ... Instead of being constantly on the alert either to defend themselves against the world or to bring the world over to them, they have subsided into acquiescence ..." this is what happens when a doctrine "dies". A group of people have inherited it, and no longer believe it. They, and here's a good cliche, "take it for granted."

Well, terrorists have got our attention. It is up to us to begin "un-granted-ifying" our beliefs, and start re-affirming them. We (in Canada at least) have an extremely strong culture, and, I believe, a beautiful one. If we are ever attacked, we need to awaken to what our beliefs are. It all depends on how fast we can react to what is going on with these terrorists in a mature fashion. Educating ourselves not just on our own beliefs, but how to refute those we believe can be wrong. The beliefs of the terrorists can be wrong. The can also be revolutionary in that they wake us up to what we truly are so that we will grow as a country and as individuals. If some people argue that part of anyone's identity is what their country grants them, then what does our country grant us? Well, the soil can't do it. We as members of a country have to put effort into defending what our country means to us. Keeping and defending our peace. Keeping peace for our future, and keeping all the rights we have, and maybe growing to include more.

One more point before I go for now. To know both our own book; the ____ (Bible, Torah, Bhagavad Gita, whatever) AND Classic Islam would be beneficial. Islam isn't bad, but many people now think it is. Their repressive belief systems are. Right now, they are fighting for revenge. What about if they start to fight because they believe our belief system is wrong and theirs is right, and they want to bring the world (or their targets) under their obedience. What if they do attack Canada? How many times will they do it? The war will be on our soil. Canadians, whether they want to or not, will be involved. Possibly we can begin to reflect on what we believe in now, so that if the time comes to state it to the world, and if war comes to us, we know what we are fighting for. Just re-read the anthem.

My prof was commenting the other day on the fact that Canada is not psychologically prepared for an attack, or for war on our soil. We have been peaceful for a long time, thank God. If we are attacked? I am not calling for us to go out and fight like the calls made during World War I. I do not want to lose people like that anymore. But will may need to fight. I think that if terrorists believe it is an honour to die for their religion and beliefs, and they will gladly give up their lives for the survival of their beliefs, we have to be ready to defend ourselves for our beliefs.