Another example of the hypocrisy of intolerance comes in the wake of the demise of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. Count me in as part of the "couldn't have happened to a nicer guy, see you in hell" crowd re Zarqawi. I won't lie and say that it didn't make my morning hearing about that bastard dying like a dog. However, we all have our own processes.
One such person who has a different process is Michael Berg, whose son Nick was the American contractor beheaded on film by Zarqawi. When asked how he felt about hearing of Zarqawi's death, Berg took a more humanitarian, less vengeful stance than many of us might. Seems like that's his prerogative.
Or not. In the same spirit that led Ann Coulter to condemn the 9/11 widows, certain members of the 82nd Chairborne are condemning Michael Berg for his "moral vanity". I'll never link to such people, but you can find a thorough rundown and riposte at Edroso's site.
As with Coulter's lunacy, there is a toxic combination of emotional retardation and preening, unself-aware hypocrisy at work here, as self-described Christians (in the comments section) take cheap shots at Berg for being, well, Christian about the whole thing.
Me, I don't buy into the whole "love your enemy" thing. It just doesn't work in the real world, especially in the short run. But then, I've never claimed to be a Christian, and whatever my doubts and second-guesses about there being something greater than man out there in the vastness of the universe, I sure as hell hope it's nothing like the vengeful, ill-tempered Levantine sky-god of the megachurches. That deity apparently regards humans as temperamental pets who need regular smacks across the nose with a celestial newspaper -- delivered by his self-appointed spokespricks, of course.
More on them to come, in the third and final part of our little intolerance series for the weekend.
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