Does President Obama Read My Blog?

Laid low with fever this week I had little energy for most of my normal homebound activities. At one point I found myself sitting in front of the computer screen and scrolling up Facebook. Not a strong fan of that internet site, I only became a friend when my daughter-in-law signed me up several years ago. Her motivation was so I could enjoy the grandchildren’s pictures posted there. Over the past few years though, those pictures have gotten lost among all the photos of people’s pets, vacations, and meals. Mixed in with all the photographs are the articles, some from professional sources and others from amateur bloggers like myself.

My interest in news usually focuses on what is happening in or near or concerning my country. Facebook seems to transcend borders and for a self-absorbed Israeli, like myself, that can be refreshing. So while ill I clicked onto all sorts of interesting subjects from the dangers of not vaccinating children to the words of former slave, Sojourner Truth. And then I found a clip from Fox News with Judge Jeanine blasting President Obama for a comment he made in his speech at the recent National Prayer Breakfast.

It seems that two sentences in his speech, Humanity has been grappling with these questions (referring to religiously-sanctioned violence) throughout human history.  And lest we get on our high horse and think this is unique to some other place, remember that during the Crusades and the Inquisition, people committed terrible deeds in the name of Christ, has upset a lot of people.

While I was growing up in America the Crusaders were glorified. Stories in my grammar school readers taught that knights in white armor did all sorts of wonderful things like rescue fair maidens, slay dragons, and march off to crusades. After watching Walt Disney’s Robin Hood I believed that everything that was wrong in Merry Old England became right once Richard the Lion-Heart came back from the Crusades and replaced the evil King John.

It was only when I began learning Jewish history seriously that I understood that the Crusades were all about murder. The knights may have whitewashed their deeds by calling their victims infidels but, no matter the semantics, thousands of innocents were slain by their sword.

And so I wrote in my blog on January 15^th, Just as the Christian crusaders once cried “Death to the Infidels!” as they murdered both Muslims and Jews now the militant Muslims cry “Allah Akbar!” as they murder Christians and, again, Jews.

I’m sure that President Obama never read my article, It Might Not Be Politically Correct. He was able to draw the parallel between the Christian Crusades and Muslim terror all on his own. And, murder, no matter who commits it or when, is something that needs to be condemned. I wish the whole world would understand that.