There is no morality to be found in religions and their scriptures. It is a human being who interprets the words and it is human being that makes the decision to x or y – no religious magic involved. So what is happening in Palmyra with ISIS is a testament to how religion enables truly shitty human behaviour.
“ISIS militants have blown up two ancient tombs they consider sacrilegious in Palmyra, a 2,000-year-old UNESCO World Heritage site in central Syria, the ultra hardline Sunni Muslim group said on Tuesday.
The report was the first of any damage being done by the militants to buildings in Palmyra since they seized control of the city, also known as Tadmur, in May. Syrian forces have bombed the city, and the militants camped within it, since then.”
Destroying world history because someone interpreted the tombs to be sacrilegious. This is some zany shit we are dealing with here – the lesson here is quite clear, and quite obvious: When the religious are in charge all bets are off and nothing is safe, not even history from the perverse ideals of radical religious thought.
Boiling down all the hoo-haa we can see that, at least in the case of ISIS, the religious piece is there for the sole reason of keeping people in line and most definitely not thinking for themselves. What reason can be supplied for destroying tombs that isn’t irrational?
Of course, destroying archaeological, is small potatoes in comparison with the recent acts of violence in France and Tunisia. How much more evidence is required before the West will decisively act and put an end to ISIS and their extremism?
bleatmop
Mystro
Dead Wild Roses 
13 comments
June 28, 2015 at 8:21 am
jasonjshaw
But HOW will they put an end to such extremism without inspiring more?
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June 28, 2015 at 8:28 am
The Arbourist
@JJS
Authentic change. We’ve broken much of the Middle East with our power plays over the energy reserves there. We back dictators and strongmen who provide a very particular sort of ‘stability’ for our energy interests.
That needs to stop (it won’t though, let me assure you).
Continuing hypothetically, we would need to install the security and money necessary for the surrounding states to have free and open elections and then support them, whether they are in our favour or not.
It is only the threat of a better example and a better existence can ISIS be defeated.
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June 28, 2015 at 9:28 am
john zande
When the religious are in charge all bets are off
That’s it, summed up in 10 words.
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June 28, 2015 at 9:30 am
The Arbourist
@JZ
So few in the US seem to realize that basic fact. It doesn’t matter which brand of religiocrazy discussed – when evidence based decision making gets shunted to the side for mythical bullshite – everyone is in trouble.
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June 28, 2015 at 9:35 am
john zande
You do have to wonder if the religionists actually understand what they’re proposing when they speak of the “need” for more religion. Theocracies are about as stupid an idea there ever has been.
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June 28, 2015 at 9:52 am
The Arbourist
@JZ
I suspect they really don’t. What concerns them is that their point of view is dominant and dissenting voices are quelled. They take this stance despite the very real notion that most ideas that are not critically challenged are bunk.
And that leads to the BS we see today where archaeological site are somehow considered blasphemous and must be destroyed?
Since when is masonry blasphemous?
Only through god-colour glasses I guess. :(
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June 28, 2015 at 12:00 pm
The Arbourist
@JJS
More analysis available here about choices available in the Middle East.
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June 28, 2015 at 1:22 pm
jasonjshaw
Guess I misread the tone of your writing. It came across to me as a support of attacking ISIS, which I was surprised to see here.
I agree that a positive and honest lead and support for it would likely be the best way … and that getting there is not going to be easy (or very likely).
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June 28, 2015 at 1:33 pm
The Arbourist
@JJS
I reread the post and I can see where you’re coming from. The first impulse of imperial politics is to believe that meddling more in another country’s affairs is the answer to every problem.
It isn’t.
The ways of dealing with this bad situation are past the point of having a good return for anyone involved, and the ‘least worse case solution’ needs to be established and embraced.
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June 28, 2015 at 5:34 pm
VR Kaine
Considering JJS’s comments, I took the article to mean you were in support of attacking ISIS, too, Arb. Not just militarily, but on all fronts.
Although we know religion is at the core of what these wackos are doing, I think we need to base our response to ISIS simply on the murder, rape, and destruction they are committing prima facie for now. Only after we wipe them out can we really have the moral and intellectual bandwidth to be deciding who/what was to blame and how to prevent another one. My opinion, anyways. We needed a war to stop Hitler, and I believe we’ll need war to stop ISIS as well. Perhaps Bush started the problem, but Obama sure as heck isn’t stopping it and with all due respect to him he lacks the capability to.
If Democrats are going to stand back and let someone else try and fight their battles for them, they should at least be giving those who are doing the fighting the capability to win.
The conversation around prevention needs to take place, but it shouldn’t be taking place when the patient is lying on the operating table.
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June 28, 2015 at 7:10 pm
Reneta Scian
Your video on the related “DWR Sunday Disservice – Proselytizing for Jeebus – The Real Story” is broken. The videolink is missing for claims that the maker made multiple 3rd Party Copyright Violations (which sounds incredibly suspect to begin with)
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June 29, 2015 at 10:35 am
The Arbourist
@Vern
I’d like to think that would be the case Vern, but given the track record in the Middle East, I contemplate a hydra-esque situation forming. Ah, we just dealt with ISIS mission accomplished! *Time passes* – OMG its VPAP (Very Pissed of Arab People) and they doing horrible things… whelp lets load up the drones again…
The history of the situation points to us continuing the loop of violent repression/uprising. And that benefits no one except the arms manufacturers. :(
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June 29, 2015 at 11:50 am
VR Kaine
I don’t disagree, Arb, but I think a lot more could be accomplished if enemies of ISIS abroad could have some (any!) sense of certainty that the US would stick things out for the long haul and not cut and run the second the “Mission Accomplished!” banner goes up. I’ll refer again to the speech that Tom Hanks’ character gives via Alan Sorkin in one of my favorite movies, “Charlie Wilson’s War”:
And a quote from Charlie Wilson himself: “These things happened. They were glorious and they changed the world… and then we fucked up the endgame.”
So true – always so true.
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