A couple of fascinating commentaries worth flagging today. One, a piece from NPR by infantry soldier Benjamin Busch explaining the problems that could have been created by those controversial Trijicon gun sights.
By branding weapons with Christian messages, there is a deep and ugly blending of religion, politics and bloodshed, and it has unwittingly painted our government and military with the embarrassing language of "crusade."
America is largely composed of people who consider themselves Christian, separated by various interpretations of the same book. But I did not go onward as a Christian soldier. I went forth as an American, a Marine. I was sent by my country to fight a threat, and thereafter with the best intentions of democracy, not theocracy.
The other is a NYTimes op-ed by Sandeep Gopalan on the issue of France's ban of the burqa in most public places.
This is not about a fashion faux pas or women’s rights, but about sending a message to Muslims. Concerned with increasingly visible numbers of Muslims openly practicing their way of life while enjoying the privileges of life in the West, French citizens and politicians alike feel that they need to restore “Frenchness” to their streets.
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In the end, the law would only serve to expose the Muslim community to scorn and ridicule and to further heighten the serious ethnic and religious differences in French society.
