No more blind eyes

One of the purest luxuries of living in a free society is the ability to criticize. Censuring fringe groups, impugning extremists or renouncing those who step outside the mainstream with actions so heinous it slurs the group as a whole, must occur to retain the moral high ground.\nCriticism is a mechanism that is commonly used to separate the populace from the radicals. But unfortunately such criticism can be lost among overwrought investments in authority and the protection of power structures. Catholic bishops, for example, were far too slow to condemn the actions of abusive priests. \n For the Middle East, where an insurgent band of bloodthirsty radicals are participating in acts that do not reflect the majority of Islam's values, the time has come for such a criticism. Another American innocent -- Paul Johnson, a New Jersey native who worked on Apache helicopter systems for Lockheed Martin in Saudi Arabia -- has lost his life at the hands of al-Qaida. \nSilence in this situation is nowhere near golden. For decades, blind eyes were turned to the rise of these groups. It has become more necessary than ever for strong public denunciations.\nIt is as much a declaration of morality as it is a public relations statement: We are not part of that, and we will not tolerate those who engage in that behavior. \nIt would ideally send the message to impressionable young minds who could be drunk with propaganda and recruited to engage in warfare. And it would send the message to the uninformed minds in America who unfortunately see everyone as "the same" in that region of the world. \nWe heard the phrase "actions of a few" continually weeks ago at the height of the Iraqi prisoner abuse scandal. It was said that those who participated in the torture were defaming the majority of the U.S. military, which did not partake in those actions. So we criticized the torturers and encouraged the establishment to take a firm stance against that kind of inhuman abuse. \nAgain, a familiar theme appears: Even if much of Islam does not view American foreign policy favorably, they are not participating in the murder of innocents. Many inside and outside of Islam assume that all of Islam sanctions the killing of fellow citizens and foreigners. It must be shown to the world that such a belief is simply not true. \nWho, exactly, will lead the endeavor is not entirely clear. It should be the responsibility of countries, leaders, rulers and clerics, and the media should be responsible in reporting the stories of moderate Muslims and not just following their extreme counterparts' actions.\nWords and criticism alone, of course, cannot stop terrorism and murder. But crucial words -- strong words of condemnation against the radical extremists who dream of a murder before they dream of a rationale -- are needed now to draw the line in the sand and let the world know where they stand.