The Internet is ablaze with photos of mobs of Afghans rioting over the burning of copies of the Qur'an at a NATO military base in that country. Soldiers were shot. Rioters were killed. Innocent citizens were caught in the crossfire. The letter of apology sent by President Obama to Afghan President Hamid Karzai hasn't done much to quell the violence. Then again, you can't blame Obama for that failure. He didn't order the Qur'an burning. He didn't burn the Qur'an. He didn't sanction it, not that that matters to the rioters on the streets of Kabul.
Sometimes I think the Afghan mobs have nothing better to do; or maybe they're just looking for any excuse available to release their caged anger, the kind of anger that builds up when life holds little by way of hope for something better and more productive. You see that sort of thing in prison riots. The lack of hope breeds anger, the anger builds up pressure, and eventually a match comes along and lights the fuse, like some lunatic who decides to burn a holy book without care or thought of the consequences. With that spark, the rioters seize their opportunity and the streets explode…people die…and millions around the globe watch and shake their heads…and wonder why.
I get angry watching the injustices in this world. Sometimes, I growl. Sometimes, I moan to anybody who will listen. Oftentimes, I take out my anger on the keyboard with my computer, and you get to read the results. I'd like to think my ranting makes a difference, but at least I know that nobody will die in the process, and no innocents will be caught in the crossfire.
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