Je Suis Charlie Abounds

Yesterday's postings by friends, fellow writers and others I'm in touch with throughout the world abounded with signage and discussion of the terrorist actions taken at Charlie Hebdo in Paris, France. Make no mistake about it - this was the action of fanatic terrorists who refused to allow viewpoints other than their own to be accessible and who penalized a magazine for printing items they considered heretical. And so, once again, religion has been tarnished by those who kill under its banner.

Within hours signs of Je Suis Charlie were popping up in pictures
and on posts throughout the world. 

The internet and social media responded to the news of the shootings at Charlie Hebdo. Je Suis Charlie signs cropped up everywhere. Speeches were made, blogs were written, sorrow was felt, and I'm absolutely sure there will be repercussions of this massacre in future laws. But let's not lose sight of the fact that this was an individual act of fanaticism and terrorism.  Let's also not lose sight of the fact that similar acts are being taken every day in other places throughout the world, often under the banner of Islam. It's a very sad thing when a religion gets tainted by political fanaticism. Suddenly what was argued in schools of religious education is brought into the world stage through misplaced actions designed to produce fear.

There are lots of ways to die. Most of them aren't very pleasant and when
they are tied up with religious persecution, they can be downright awful. 

Do these actions produce fear? Certainly. I wouldn't want a semi-automatic facing me. I also wouldn't want to be put in front of a firing squad, beheaded, pushed into a shower to be gassed, or be strapped to a stake with faggots of wood at my feet and torches nearby. Yet these things have happened in the past to those who practiced various religions/ The perpetrators have been governments and some individuals who practice established platforms of religious intolerance. It's easy to make a scapegoat of those who are different. The murderers at Charlie Hebdo just cut another facet onto a multi-faceted stone.

What are your fears? Terrorism is just one of many. 

So yes, acts of terrorism can produce fear, but the individual fanatic usually won't change history. Most people will continue trying to live their lives to the best of their ability. They will attend their churches, synagogues and temples. They will try to raise good children who care for and about others, and they will attempt to conduct their daily business with honesty. They will pray to their own variety of god for those who lost their lives, and maybe for those who took them. But when the individual fanatic controls politics - then it's time to be very afraid. That's what seems to be happening now.

Does Death greet us? Or is he just one more construct? 

It all comes down to death. That great unknown. There is no Trip Advisor for death. It is the one place everyone goes and the one place no-one truly knows anything about. What happens? Do we see and embrace our deceased loved ones? Do we join motes of energy or matter streaming through the universe? Are we confined in a large hall? Are there multitudes of virgins awaiting the modern day warriors, rather like Valhalla awaited those judged worthy in Norse societies? Maybe. Maybe not. But this single unknown requires a guide - God or Spirit or whatever - to meet, greet and teach us. This guide and the concept of the hereafter is one of the foundations of most world religions.

We all want to be welcomed by our deity of choice after death, but
those pearly gates? ... well ... I have my doubts about that. 

The desire to propitiate a deity and live the way that we've been told they desire can dictate life choices. These choices often have a basis in a fear of the afterlife, even if that fear isn't recognized or expressed. Me? I wonder what will happen if those who slaughtered the staff of Charlie Hebdo meet up with their victims after their own deaths. What will they say to one another? What will their deity(s) say?