Egypt’s quiet horror

The Egyptian coup that took place a few weeks ago is one of the most dramatic news stories of the year even though many aspects of it have been underreported by the American media.

Our media, led by the television news networks, tend to get focused on a small amount of stories that help with ratings. While that small amount of stories are important, an unfortunate byproduct of this approach is many newsworthy stories do not get the attention they deserve.

What kind of stories? Well, what about the personal economic impact we have felt because of the coup? Though not a lot of oil is produced there, the location of the Suez Canal near the country insures that unrest in Egypt will impact prices. The Suez Canal provides one pathway for oil to be shipped to the world. We have seen our local gas prices rise more than 20 cents since the coup, and it will be interesting to see where prices go from here.

Also, our country sends more than $1.3 billion in aid to the country. This is money collected from our taxes. So, when we view events there, we need to remember that our financial support leaves our fingerprints (especially when it comes to the Egyptian military).

However, the most underreported story of the coup may be the impact the event is having on Christians there. According to multiple sources, violence against Christians is growing.

When Muslim Brotherhood President Mohammed Morsi was overthrown, the Christian community was vocal about the need for him to be ousted. The Associated Press has reported the group is paying the price for its activism.

For example, Christian priest Mena Aboud Sharoben was killed in a drive-by shooting while a pro-Morsi crowd destroyed homes in villages that have a relatively large Christian population. As happens in most countries, when there is governmental instability, it is the minority groups that suffer. This is the case when it comes to Christians in Egypt.

There are plenty more examples that are similar to this, but if people want to read about them, they better be prepared to do some digging on the Internet. The mainstream media won’t focus much attention on these events because they are not ratings producers. I’m not holding my breath waiting for Nancy Grace and Sean Hannity to dedicate significant time to stories like these.

When considering these events, it should provoke questions inside us. Should we be sending so much money to an area that is so unstable at this point? I would answer ‘yes’ because Egypt is probably our most important Arab ally in the Middle East, and it would be a mistake to divest ourselves from them at a time like this. However, shouldn’t we be applying pressure when it comes to human rights?

As for Americans, situations like this should grab our attention. This applies to all people and not just to Christians here. As a nation, we have designated certain rights to be protected by our Constitution. Though I believe most of us understand that it is unreasonable to expect other countries to be carbon copies of us when it comes to government, we should still be vocal when it comes to issues we deem important.

When one country wobbles when it comes to human rights, it becomes easier for that wobbling to spread. Though Egypt is half a world away, don’t think that it can’t happen here. It is already here in some respects, and though we like to pat ourselves on our backs when it comes to our alleged enlightenment, dark times could come if we are not careful.

From the mixed-up mind of Gordon Gee

When it comes to life at a university, I am sure most of us have heard the term “ivory tower” used to describe life at such places. It is a term that is often used to demonstrate how life there is not the same as it is in the real world.

However, we recently saw an example of how so-called enlightened people can be just as bigoted and narrow minded as people in the rest of society.

It was recently revealed that Ohio State University President Gordon Gee has some salty attitudes regarding the truthfulness of Catholics and intelligence of people in the South. Unfortunately for him, his comments were caught on tape, allowing us to share in his ugly insights.

Folks here locally might remember Gee from his stint as chancellor at Vanderbilt University. He was known as a colorful character while there, but his recent comments demonstrate how Vanderbilt people should be happy he left their school.

The comments were made last December at a meeting of the school’s athletic council, according to ESPN.com. His comments were directed at Notre Dame, which is a private Catholic school that some thought might be going to the Big 10 Conference (of which Ohio State is a member).

However, Notre Dame did not join the conference, prompting Gee to state “those ---- Catholics” can’t be trusted. He also stated: “The fathers are holy on Sunday, and they’re holy hell on the rest of the week. You just can’t trust those ---- Catholics on a Thursday or a Friday, and so, literally, I can say that.”

As he made these comments, laughter can be heard in the background. Since then, Gee has apologized, saying the comments “were a poor attempt at humor and entirely inappropriate,” according to the Associated Press.

He should consider himself lucky that he did not get fired, but he has announced he will retire July 1. For whatever reason, our society is more tolerant of hateful speech toward some religious groups compared to others.

Members of Christianity often have to tolerate more of a sharp sword when it comes to words. This is strictly an opinion, but if Gee had made his comments toward Muslims or Jews, then he would have been quickly fired. It appears Christians have to have a thicker skin than everybody else. This may not be fair, but this is the world we live in, so my advice to members of that group is too strengthen your backbone and deal with it.

Gee also had insults for the Southeastern Conference. When discussing comments from fans of the SEC regarding why the Big 10 still uses that name despite having 14 members in the conference, Gee stated: “You tell the SEC when they can learn to read and write, then they can figure out what we’re doing.”

Ah, yes. The poor, dumb and ignorant stereotype of people in the South remains alive and well. As a culture, we are told that people who live in “ivory towers” have advanced beyond the mundane stereotypes that drive our society, but Gee is walking and talking proof that this is not the case.

The bottom line is the value of people like Gee to a university is not measured in the dopey words they say, but the money brought in through fundraising. If people like him can still rake in the money while making irresponsible comments, it will not matter.

This is probably one of the most cynical examples of how money trumps humanity in our culture. This example should make a cold chill run down all our spines.

Social media frustrates as well as enlightens

During the last decade or so, there can be no debating the impact of social media. Platforms like Facebook and Twitter have given us the ability to reach out to each other in ways that were not even imagined a generation ago.

While I am sure there can be a debate as to whether this is totally a good thing, it does provide us the opportunity. If I want to tell people that I had a grilled cheese sandwich for lunch, then theoretically I can let hundreds of my friends know that within seconds of it happening.

Though Facebook and Twitter are the hottest forms of social media right now, it manifests itself in many ways. These ways can include just about any forum that allows people to share information.  Any web site with a message board can host comments from people around the globe, and it allows people to cross paths that might not otherwise meet.

Personally, I do not use Twitter. I am sure it has merit, but it lacks appeal. Since I have a tendency to latch on to fads just as they are winding down, I may use it at some point after everybody has already moved on to the next big thing.

I do use Facebook. For the most part, it is an effective way to communicate to the people in my orbit. It has also provided me the opportunity to reconnect with people I had not spoken to in years. What could be wrong with that?

However, like most communication tools, Facebook has become a reservoir for misinformation and outright ignorance in some cases.

Do not get me wrong: I am grateful for the first amendment, and Facebook certainly is a great tool for free speech. The problem is that information that is presented on Facebook by many as fact often is way off base when it comes to accuracy.

In some respects, Facebook can be one big gossip chain where one person presents some incorrect information. Then, another person takes that incorrect information and passes it on to somebody else. And then the process repeats itself thousands of times until a whole lot of people get a whole lot of bad information.

This can happen on any topic. Politics can be the worst offender. I repeatedly see people present the positions of our elected officials incorrectly or taken out of context. This applies to people of both political parties. I know people mean well, but I wish we would be a little more careful about how we present the words of other people. It really is not too difficult to spend some time researching to see if what we are presenting is actually true or not.

Religion is another area. If I had a hundred dollars for every time I have seen people misrepresent what is in the Bible, I would be walking around with pockets stuffed with Benjamins. I do not claim to be a biblical scholar, but even a person of average intelligence like me can tell when somebody is completely off base. The internet is a notoriously difficult place to discuss religion (and politics, for that matter), and Facebook is another forum that demonstrates this.

I want to be clear that Facebook can be an effective forum for things like politics and religion. When Facebook is used responsibly, it can have a tremendous impact on people’s lives in a positive way.

Because of this, it is important to use the resource as responsibly as possible. The internet is the wild, wild west in many bad ways.

Let's not live down to the negative aspects of the internet. Let’s not abuse our freedom.

Precious religious freedom

We should always cherish the freedom that we enjoy here in our country, and included in that freedom is the religious liberty we have at our disposal.

It is easy for people of faith to take for granted just how good we have it here. The only obstacle that we face when it comes to attending a worship service is our own willingness or lack of willingness to go. Complacency can be a mighty foe, and all too often, we let it get the best of us.

Of course, our nation's religious liberty has not always come easy. Just about every major religious group has faced some kind of hardship or opposition during its history. I will not go into much detail on that fact, but if a person disagrees, simply 'Google' it on the Internet and a massive amount of information will be presented.

We see this struggle play out in many different ways. Currently, we have seen controversies involving Muslims wanting to open cultural centers and mosques. The most prominent of these disputes have been efforts to open a mosque near Ground Zero in New York City.

'Ground Zero' is the term commonly applied to the site where Islamic terrorists attacked the World Trade Center complex on Sept. 11, 2001. Approximately 3,000 people died and many oppose putting a mosque in that area because they feel it is insensitive to the families who lost loved ones.

Though the sensitivities of the families are important, I do not see any legal reason to prevent the opening of the mosque. If the people proposing the facility have followed the regulations of New York, then they have every right to put a mosque there.

As Newsweek magazine put it recently: 'Does being American mean holding the personal pain of some above the constitutional rights of others...?' It is a fair question, but a person or group's constitutional rights still have to be protected even in an emotionally charged situation like this.

However, are the people proposing the mosque being insensitive? Yes. The people behind this effort had to have known that they would be walking into a storm of controversy. If they did not, then they were being remarkably naïve, but I believe they knew what they were doing.

The discussion we have seen on this has been a fascinating example of the 'marketplace of ideas' in action. Both sides have been under a lot of scrutiny but have done a good job getting their points across.

Of course, there have been some fringe elements that have engaged in rhetoric that has been regrettable, but that is to be expected these days. I will not single any of those people out because I do not want to give them publicity.

I will say this though. We should all be wary of anybody who advocates violence when it comes to dealing with this situation (or others like it). Personal disagreement and civil disobedience have their place, but when it comes to destruction, don't you know that you can count me out.

The bottom line is America is a melting pot. Throughout our history, our strength has come from our diversity. Islam is a faith that concerns many right now because of what we read in the newspaper and watch on television.

I share the concerns that a lot of people have. A casual look at Islamic governments around the world shows that most of them are hard line. Being a woman in those countries must be unpleasant.

However, the United States is a country that emphasizes democracy.

And part of being a democracy includes dealing with issues that are complicated.