Being on several dive lists, I've gotten a several private email "forward lists" where movies, polictics, and jokes just keep coming. I've long given up on asking, "please don't put me on your forward list." My delete key runneth over, but tonight I got a list of conservative, pro-war, and heavily nationalistic cartoons. It was the perfect contrast to the book I've been listening too, Deepak Chopra, "Peace is the way". This cartoon kept my attention because I was drawn to the artistic side as much as the political message.

Uncle Sam, the tired old man. I can almost see Charleston Heston's likeness. Here he is holding his last weapon waiting for some "liberal" to pry it out of his cold dead hands.

Only that Liberalism is a weapon that is going to finish off the USA? Liberalism is a tool is a tool of the religion of Islam?

The image stirs anger in me as it is designed too. But when I step back and ponder, I don't see how this would play out?

First, lets stop holding up Western Civilization as "above" all others and put it back on the ground where it belongs. Then perhaps we can redirect our energies to understanding other civilizations.

In order to do that, Uncle Sam will have to open his eyes and see what is going on. It is not the liberals or Islam that is the enemy. These are nationalistic divisions used to rally and fire up each side of the war into an "Us" vs "Them" conflict.

The gun really represents ignorance. If we keep believing that we are better, special, and are actually helping the world by killing others, we kill ourselves.

Islam is no more to blame that Haliburton. The finger on the hammer of ignorance is greed. We delude ourselves into thinking they want to kill us for what we have. Its the greedy taking advantage of the ignorant that are a threat to our way of life.

What do you see in this image? What labels would you put on it?