If Putin wants to give Assad a fair deal, that's reasonable

I think we should be okay with Putin granting asylum to Syrian President Bassar al-Assad, as he hinted he might be willing to do. Too often, in our zeal for spreading freedom and democracy, we automatically demonize all kings and dictators as tyrants, and deny them the due process they, like every other human being, are entitled to, once they are forced out of office. We did it with Saddam Hussein and again with Muammar Gaddafi. Both of those guys are now dead, essentially lynched (literally in Saddam's case) by their political foes without being given any real chance to defend themselves.

We should remember something: Democracy is not for everyone. It requires an astute, sophisticated, educated public and a people who are inherently tolerant and modern in their thinking. Some countries are simply too backward for self-rule. They need to work toward it gradually. And, in the meantime , they need a strong "father figure" to keep order and control their destiny until they are mature enough to control it themselves.

We need to remember that before we hawkishly go seeking regime change around the world without considering the consequences of leaving a power vacuum and a public that has no idea what to do next.

Note: A friend responded to me on social media:  If you read Revelations you will see where it's all coming together. Not in our lifetime but it's working. PRAISE THE LORD

...to which I replied:

As I've said before, I believe that our purpose is not to sit around twiddling our thumbs, waiting for Armageddon to rescue us from this sinful old place. We have an obligation to use our time wisely, to spend our worldly existence making the world better. Works and deeds do matter. Peter and James were right. Paul was not. But that's just my take on it. If there are, let's say, a thousand different versions of Christianity out there, and as many different opinions on these things...then---let's do the math---How many are likely to be right? Easy. Either ONE or NONE. How many are likely to be wrong? Also easy. Either ALL or 999. Those odds don't give me much faith in all these folks who swear up and down that theirs is the only correct religion.

Should we tolerate all religions---or only those that share our "God"?

I think the American people need to be educated on exactly what values ordinary Muslims hold. That's the only way we can determine if they are compatible with our American way of life or not and if we in this country should be expected to tolerate Islam as a legitimate religion.

Here in the U.S. most of us are of a Christian heritage and, as such, we tend to have a fairly modern enlightened take on God (as Jesus did). Most of us, I would say, view God (Allah--same thing) as being all about peace, forgiveness, non-violence, compassion, and making the world a nicer place. If some self-proclaimed religion teaches a value-system other than that, I'm thinking maybe they should be scratched from our "religious tolerance" list. Clearly, not every crazy group that calls itself a religion actually IS one, or has anything at all to do with God.

So, what about Islam? Where does it fit in? How many of us actually know what Muslims believe?  I wish some network or publication would take it upon itself to provide us a truly in-depth, well-researched series on what the Quran actually teaches, what the clerics are really saying in the mosques, and what has been written by Muslim intellectuals over the years regarding Sharia law and how Muslims view tolerance and the rights of individuals (including women, minorities, eccentrics, etc.). 

Educate us, if you will please, on whether we Christian Americans should trust and embrace the followers of Mohammed as our brothers and sisters....or not.