Casca,

Try and get this clear in your thinking: there's no ONE Islam but a plurality of Islams reflecting a plurality of religious and political agendas. Not all Arab traditions are Islamic and Islam does not UNIFY all Arabs. Your use of the word, "Clerics" is meaningless and your lack of knowledge about the complex nature of Muslims and Islam diminishes any credibility you may hope to possess in discussions of this kind. Very few Muslims are militant.

Thus far, we in America are permitted to speak freely about the truth amongst ourselves or "playfully" through alternative web sites, books and music. In that context the truth is diluted by derogatory labels as when Ari Fleischer said Cynthia Mckinney was a member of "the grassy knoll society" because she told the truth about Bush--as if one is in touch with reality because they believe in the single bullet theory. Everyone knows--no one takes "those people" seriously; even though many counter culture conspiracy books become best sellers.

The powerful platforms of communication like television and newspapers necessary to educate the masses, are corporate owned, corporate controlled and corporate censored and it is corporations that shape government policies. So as long as people believe what they're told by the corporate controlled media, even those that speak the truth in alternative books, music or web sites, speak the truth to deaf ears. The truth is allowed as long as it has been neutralized with lunatic labels making it impotent and if the truth's potency survives beyond these boundaries it becomes--as Orwell says--a revolutionary act.

So in a dictatorship you achieve tyranny by physical force which may be coupled with the opium of theocratic rule. In a corporate controlled (so-called) democracy you achieve tyranny with mind control coupled with the opium of the worship of things. Corporate names have become icons and places like Mcdonalds and shopping malls have become familiar shrines and temples where consuming is an act of worship. Either way, the masses will defend their oppressor with the same blank stare--whether it be induced by cash, credit or a holy mosque.

Whether one murders for religion or the preservation of the controlling elite, both are senseless and meaningless and neither act has value. The common people you refer to have no viable input into the machinery of government and the so-called elected officials are chosen from a small elite group whose allegiance is to the largest campaign contributor belonging to the wealthy ruling class.

And so you have the freedom to roam the grounds and no one really worries about you because they know that you have embraced the truth--you have seen the light. You've been told what the truth IS and believe it and you've been told that those who whisper or claim they know the real truth are crazy. And if they're crazy, they can't possibly see the truth because they're not in their right minds. And so of course it seems more sane to you that one would commit an act of controlled murder for the state instead of gleefully killing for Allah because you see, your sanity has been redefined.