Did you know that according to Fox Business, the US has given Pakistan over 18 billion dollars in aid since 9/11?
Are you aware that Pakistan not only protected Bin Laden for years, but is currently executing people for blasphemy. Eighteen people are on death row. The “logic” behind all this is that every religious group in Pakistan supports the laws because Allah should never be disrespected. Obviously, the government is supporting the religious groups. Examples of blasphemy can include architectural design, throwing away a calling card, spelling errors and yes, disagreeing with someone in power regarding religion.
Okay, so things in Pakistan are a lot different from here in the US, but WHY ARE WE GIVING A GOVERNMENT MONEY WHO IS AGAINST EVEN THE BASIC TENETS OF DEMOCRACY AND OPENLY DEFIES OUR COUNTRY?
What does this have to do with psychiatry?
A basic rule in psychotherapy is that a patient must learn that thoughts are not equal to actions. Because you have violent thoughts about your parents, siblings, friends or even Allah doesn’t mean you are going to DO anything violent.
We have the right to our own thoughts. We don’t have the right, within reasonable law, to act on our violent thoughts. That’s why the prisons in California are overflowing. People broke the law by their actions — NOT THEIR THOUGHTS!
The actions of our elected officials is beyond logic. 18 billion dollars to support religious oppression and an anti-democratic way of life?
Yes, I know, it might be worse if we didn’t give them the money. How do we fight terrorism effectively? It’s a complicated issue…
Maybe it’s not as complicated as we are led to believe. Give money to a country who allowed Bin Laden to live in hiding? Give money to a government that doesn’t respect women’s rights, religious rights, or children’s rights?
If we used all that money to start rebuilding our own infrastructure, put everyone to work, and created as much of a petrol free environment as possible, we’d be a lot better off than pandering to countries who do not respect our values. Countries can have any values they want, but if they continue to keep their people oppressed, they can get their money from other oppressors, like the Saudis or Iranians. And good luck with that!
Art Smukler is the award-winning writer of Chasing Backwards, a psychological murder mystery, Skin Dance, a mystery, and The Man with a Microphone in his Ear. All are available as paperbacks and eBooks.
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Art Smukler, MD - Books & Thoughts 
Thanks for saying out loud what so many of us are thinking! It’s outrageous that our tax dollars are supporting these atrocities. What I want to know: why aren’t any of the mainstream TV shows raising these issues? Where’s CNN? Fox News? MSNBC?
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Thanks! Good question! Why isn’t everyone ranting about this?
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I would rant, but the authorities would think I needed to be put under the care of a shrink. 🙂
Seriously, did anyone see the report about the “happy” YouTube video in Iran. It had 100k hits in the first hour. The young people who produced it have been arrested as it shows men and women dancing together and women without their heads covered. All against the law.
There’s a long way to go I’m afraid.
Mike
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Sadly, you are right. But, we can continue to rant. Maybe someone will take notice.
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Excellent. Couldn’t agree more with the logic.
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Art,
Where do I begin as you struck a nerve? First, they also have the “bomb” and may be partially holding us ransom against its use. Anyway they are not alone in abusing womens’, childrens’s and overall religious rights. Since before 9-11, 60 minutes has shown reports of women being pubicly beaten or murdered by the Taliban for seeking an education. This continues today. How about the young girl who was recently shot in the head, is recovering, and speaking out against her oppressors? How about the recent kidnapping of 300 school age girls in Nigeria by an Islamic group? How about the Moors moving across Northern Africa, into Portugal, Spain, and I believe France in an effort to spread religion by the sword? I am a tolerant person, but continued ACTIONS as you mention make it difficult for a tolerant person to believe the question, is this a religion of peace?
This morning I watched a report on TV while I was working out at the gym. It was about the preparations for the next World Cup Competition (after Brazil this summer) in Qatar. The report almost made me cry. Qatar is rich with oil and natural gas revenues. It has a population of about 200,000 people, making it the highest income per capita country in the world. The “government” is prepared to spend $200 billion getting ready for the World Cup.
In order to accomplish this, Qatar must bring in hundreds of thousands (approx. 400,000 so far) of migrant workers, most from South Asia countries such as India, Nepal, and Sri Lanka. The citizens of Qatar do not consider the migrant workers as humans. The poor migrant workers must sign an employment contract with companies who arrange for transportation, passports, and ENTRY visas. Upon arrival, the employers line up the migrant workers and tear up the employment contracts, basically saying you’ll get paid what we feel like paying. The employers also hold the passports and must approve EXIT visas for the migrant workers. The employees work long days in the 120+ degree temperatures for 6-7 days/week. They live in labor camps in squalor, with unsanitary restroom conditions, unsanitary kitchens to cook their meals, and in rooms with 12-16+ workers per room. As the result of these conditions, there have been an a significant number of deaths “officially” attributed to cardiac failure, suicide, and construction accidents also attributed to suicide. These are young men in the 26-28 year age category. Several international workers’ rights groups have attempted to investigate these deaths, but have been refused interviews by the “government”. One stadium for the World Cup is under construction and it is estimated that another 500,000 migrant workers will be needed to complete the other 7 stadiums, in addition to more lavish hotels and other facilities. Workers are essentially slaves and must endure these harsh conditions in another country whose religion is the “religion of peace”.
Your blog started out questioning why we support a country such as Pakistan. We have political gridlock in Washington which I don’t think will improve. Maybe what we need is a third political party with a base of middle of the road common sense people. Let’s call it the American Unity Party. I realize that a third major political party might take take decades to build momentum, but it makes a lot of sense when we consider issues such as dependence on foreign oil, social security, size of the military, immigration, etc. I am not plugging sales of the book, but my first cousin with my first and last name recently published a book titled, “An American Moment”. There are a lot of common sense proposals made in the book. I hope the copy I left at your office made it into your hands. My cousin also has a web site, http://www.americanmoment.net where people can learn more about this potential change to our political system. Although one might not agree with all policy planks, there are several that make a lot of sense.
Anyway, we need to change our policy of rewarding nations who stand against all of our basic principles. Maybe a coherent energy policy is a good place to begin so these countries end up drowning in their oil.
My best,
Mike Busman
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Thanks! Very well said.
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Well said! Except the part about Fox News. You can’t believe anything that tea party spawned so called news organization says.
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Nicely said. I totally agree and find it disgusting that both parties (no matter who is in power) feel that we have to continue to support these backward countries who refuse to enter the 21st (or even the 20th) century. I wonder…”What would Allah say?”
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If there are any Muslims reading this, what do you think Allah would say?
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Thanks. Wouldn’t it be amazing if Allah came back and screamed at his followers to stop bring do sadistic and be nice ? To actually respect others…
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