Saturday, March 19, 2016

Can someone help me understand?





Today, I've been watching a recording of a talk Thursday by Nina Shea, the Hudson Institute's director of the Center for Religious Freedom, on the State Department's announcement Thursday designating Christians, Yahzidis, and others as victims of genocide by ISIS.

The announcement was a surprise -- the State Department had indicated as recently as the day before that it needed more time to make a determination about Christians, despite the evidence that this has been going on for years and that the sexual enslavement of Christian and Yahzidi women and girls long predated John Kerry as Secretary of State.

It's easy, perhaps too easy, to say that State did what it did because the issue was beginning to bubble up, this is an election year, and that various officials didn't want to repeat what happened with Franklin Roosevelt - who ignored or disregarded the growing evidence that the Nazis were persecuting the Jews before World War II and staining his legacy. 

Perhaps those are the reasons. But it shocks me to my soul that our government would deliberately ignore this horror, for whatever reason, in spite of the evidence in front of its eyes. And it feeds the narrative that this Administration is hostile to Christians in general.

Is this what all this political anger in our country has come to? Can someone help me understand this?

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Photograph: Secretary of State John Kerry announcing the State Department's genocide designation, March 17, 2016.

1 comment:

  1. Glynn, back in 2008, when Obama made his first run, I said to myself, "Surely, no one will back a candidate with a Muslim name (not to mention heritage) after what happened on 9/11." Okay, big egg on my face!
    As I've paid close attention through the years of this presidency, I've seen nothing but leanings toward Islam and blatant ignoring of Christians both in this country and abroad. And the cold shoulder toward Israel and Benjamin N. should send red flags up to everybody. The administration has shown no respect whatsoever for our Judeo-Christian heritage in America.
    Yes, folks are angry about this. But they are also furious with the officials they voted for who failed them miserably when they got to Congress. We still have Obamacare, over-regulation, attempts to limit free speech, a sorry economy, and the list goes on. Trump has pledged to uphold and support Christian beliefs and values. There is no guarantee, of course, but I think that may be one of the reasons many are turning to him in droves.
    Sorry for this epistle, but I hope it makes some sense, my friend!

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