Monday, February 18, 2013

Less Abundance Less Tolerance

There is a mega trend that I have noticed that is building likely since 9-11 worldwide and it has increased since the Great Recession Starting around 2007 and 2008 worldwide.

It is the fact that when there is less to go around Tolerance of other religions and other types of people around the world diminishes. I have been noticing this more and more as I see story after story in the news of Christians being harmed or driven out of especially North Africa and the Middle East in General.

Looking at this historically I think is the most useful. Whenever things get difficult as in now over most of Earth, when there is not enough water and food in specific areas, where young people under 30 can't find work (50% most places on earth). When they can't get married because of no career and no jobs or job prospects, minorities always suffer in whatever country that is happening in.

By seeing this in a more historical setting it begins to make more sense what is happening around the world.

There isn't enough food. So families try to survive through nepotism or any way they can. Anyone who looks or believes different is driven out of that area or country by the majorities of that country.

So, this is what it looks like in North Africa and the Middle East in general right now. So, to look at it only as Muslims driving out Christians from North Africa and the Middle East is only part of it. It is about groups trying to physically survive by driving out anyone different from them. And this happens all over the world in different ways by different groups.

The unfortunate thing this time though is that Christians likely will take all this more and more personally and see the driving out of Christians out of North Africa and the Middle East as an attack on Christians which it is. However, it is my belief is that the driving force is not Anti-Christian but rather the basic survival of Muslim groups that have lived in these places for over 1000 years in many cases.

Since, I have not heard anyone else mention this point I decided to write this short piece about it.

What is the solution to this problem? I think starting to define one of the root causes of this problem will help create a better solution in the short and long term and make more violent solutions less
necessary on all sides.

So, for example, North Africa and the middle East is primarily Muslim and all other minorities likely will have problems during this cycle however long it lasts. However, in Europe, Russia, North and South America which are all predominately Christian other minorities likely will have problems during this time. However, minority religions and groups likely will not have as bad a time in the U.S. and Canada during this time because their economies are still relatively functional and working fairly well. This is also true in places like Germany, France and England and a few others.

If we look historically there were only a few people in history that created boundaries between Islam and Christianity on the ground. One of the first was El Cid in Spain when after he was dead he had his soldiers put him on a horse and ride him into battle which scared the Saracens away and to some degree out of Spain. The other historical figure was one in Transylvania called "Vlad, The Impaler" otherwise known as the historical Count Dracula who impaled hundreds of Muslims to make them stay out of Transylvania and also Europe. However, later the relatives of the Muslims who died came back and killed Vlad as well.

So, there have always been boundaries set by both Christians and Muslims culturally and likely many or most of those boundaries are likely to remain in place for hundreds of years to come. So, where Christians are minorities they will either stay minorities or be driven out. And where Muslims are minorities in many places they will either stay minorities or be driven out as well. It all depends on many factors but I think the most important one is how well people can get jobs, water and food wherever they are.

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