I found the editorial "The War on Christianity" excellent and informative.
I recall a generation ago that there was a sense of excitement at large in most liberal democracies about the coming together of various religions in discussion and friendship. Every part of the UK now, for example, has inter-faith councils and dialogue. Sadly, the euphoric optimism of those times is now lying crushed in the dust. So what went wrong?
Part of the problem is rapid movement of people. In the UK again we have a large number of Muslims and Hindus as a result of migration from our former colonies. These have greatly enriched our economy and country -- I once came under the care of an excellent Indian doctor who worked in an Indian-staffed practice in an area where others feared to tread. Consequently, there would be few problems in the UK if there were not malevolent outside influences at work.
Another part of the problem is territorial -- Islam and Judaism are both focused on land. The latter believes Palestine must forever be a Jewish state; the former believes no land once Islamic can be lost to the faith (which has happened with Israel). Fortunately, Buddhism and Christianity do not share such a focus.
Then there is theology. Generally speaking, all the great world religions each regard themselves as the religion, and all others inferior in some way. This attitude can be seen in religious minorities in societies. Christian Zionism is also currently driving a disastrous US foreign policy, despite it being a blatant heresy. Theology can cause division, and division can cause conflict. Indeed, it can even be seen now as a weapon of war.
However, the real heart of the problem is in self-identity -- we define ourselves by our race, language and religion, or at least, our values derived from a historic religious background. This is why the world will never be able to unite around religions; it is futile and impossible. We can only unite around our shared humanity. We need to forget what divides us and recognise what unites us -- we are all human and therefore all equally worthy of respect and concern. We are a speck of conscious life in a vast universe, huddled together in a tiny lifeboat on an infinite sea. Our Gods therefore need to take a back seat if humankind is to survive and prosper.
It can be seen from this that only politically secularist and tolerant societies, allowing all to freely live their different religious or non-religious lives together in harmony, will know lasting happiness and peace. All societies focused on one single, dominating religion will never do so.
The future, in a nutshell, is humanism.
Andy Phillips
Generation of robots
I ran into a young man -- a college student studying public relations and management at a well-known Bangkok university. As the checkout line was long and slow, we got to talking, the casual way Thais do when they initiate conversations with Westerners.
Having checked out our groceries, he invited me to a local coffee shop in the plaza where we continued talking. I asked whether his training involved talking to customers in person. He responded that no, only email and phone responses were studied. I asked if he knew how to write a response letter to a customer who wrote to his proposed company. Again, he was a bit evasive and said that he learned to respond by sending a website.
I recalled the days to him when a customer would receive a typed letter ending with, "Thank you for showing an interest in our product. If I, or anyone else could be of further service to you, kindly do not hesitate to write or call to let us know". I drew a blank. Oh, what a generation of pre-programmed human robots the universities are tuning out. At least the coffee was tasty, and, I didn't have to pay for it.
Jack Gilead
Consider Cambodia
Re: "Sad old Thailand", (PostBag, April 27).
I too would like to know where 90-year old Donald Graber is planning to relocate. Many of my friends who have lived here for years and years have upped and gone to Cambodia to find themselves welcomed.
I'd consider Cambodia if push came to shove if I were you. Like Thailand and its neighbours, as long as you stay uninvolved in politics, you are welcome to stay and are not hassled. I understand long-term visas can be obtained within three days as well.
Tired Old Expat
Condemning the protester
While it's commendable that readers are responding sympathetically to Donald Graber, the 90-year-old expat who may be forced to leave Thailand, I received different responses when I brought attention to the injustices of the new visa rules.
I was told I should leave the country and was called a "whiner".
What other people call "whining" I call speaking out against injustice. As I noted in an earlier letter, we always condemn the protestor instead of the injustice that he's protesting against (that applies to animal rights as well as human rights).
Eric Bahrt
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