Violence in the name of religion is nothing more than hate

Yet again the acts of a few radicals are viewed by some as the entirety of our country, and yet again religion is at the heart of it. I for one believe each and every person is entitled to his or her own beliefs and those that bash others beliefs are no better than those who maim and murder to defend their beliefs. Yet, it is not all American’s just as it is not all Muslim’s who flew into the World Trade Center and the Pentagon in 2011.  Yet, again the United States is facing a war over religious beliefs and a few people who decided to bash other’s religious views. The people who put out the video and so called movie do not represent all the people of our country, and in fact the majority do not agree with the filmmakers, but innocent people are being injured and killed because it is presumed we all feel that way.

I whole-heartedly agree with Secretary of Hillary Clinton who described the events as “an awful internet video that we had nothing to do with.”  I also support our president who has stated to the countries where the violence is occurring “Stop the violence and seek justice against those attacking diplomatic missions or else the United States will.

While I do not relish the idea of another way, I also do not believe people should be permitted to respond by murdering innocent people in the name of religion. I should also state I do not believe all Muslims are involved in the violence but only a small majority.

I sincerely hope the countries in which this is occurring responds accordingly so that innocent people on both sides are not drug into a war over the views of a view.

I am outraged, outraged that a video and movie in which the filmmaker lied to the actors and about his own name is being used as a reason to attack the United States and its diplomatic leaders. I am also outraged the people are driven to the violence of the last view days, and have not stopped to consider this is one person or at most a handful of people putting out the hate videos, and if we all worked together to shut the hate down it would show the world and the few hate groups that we can work together to stop the hate, instead of giving them fodder to fuel the hate which is what the groups engaged in the violent acts are doing.

I know a few Muslims and have been told it is a peaceful religion, and the protestors do not represent the entire Muslim community. I believe that to be true, and I sincerely hope that this situation does not continue to escalate because if it does, it won’t be good for either side, and more innocent people will die.

In saying that I should also say, that I understand in our country we have a freedom of speech and that the filmmaker is more than likely going to stand behind the right, however, there are times it is not permitted, such as when that freedom incites riots etc. In this case, I believe his video did just that and that he or the few involved should be held just as accountable for inciting the violence as those engaged in it.

Just my two cents worth, and I am sure I will have a more well thought out dialogue coming, but for now I am angry and upset at what is occurring around the world all in the name of religion.

 

 

 

My Personal Challenge

M and I go daily to the gym at 5:00 a.m. and run. I had grown lazy, and due to a injured knee used it as an excuse to do very little, while eating more than normal for me. In early June I decided my butt had got to big and vowed to start eating better and doing more at the gym. As such I began doing an hour each morning on the treadmill and increased the incline every so often.

I should also say M and I are competitive with each other and he almost always out does me. But the drive to out do him also pushed me on. Then last week I heard of a run, the rim to rim rum. Starting at the north rim of the Grand Canyon, your go down, then across the bottom of the canyon and back up the south rim. It is a grand total of 27.5 miles. For some reason I have decided this is something I want to do.

I have done the research, the best times to go are September-October and March-April. It is a given there is no way I will be ready to do it in a few weeks so I have decided on April, 2013, I am going to tackle the run.

With that said, I have ramped up the workouts even more. I was doing an hour to 90 minutes a day with a goal of 5 miles per day. Now, I am waking an hour earlier and doing 90 minutes to 2 hours and will increase the time every three to four weeks. Goal is 10 miles each morning, with the weekends being double that since I will have more time.

I have also gone on a high protein diet and eating every two hours. I must say this diet is not so much a diet because I am actually eating more than I have in years, but it is mostly fresh fruits and vegetables. So, far its not to bad.

Yesterday I got two hours in for a total of 6.51 miles with the first 90 minutes at an 8% incline and the last half hour at a 2% decline since I will have to go down the north rim and back up the south. This morning I only got 4 miles at an 8% incline because my body HURTS!!

However, tomorrow it is back to waking at 4 a.m. to ensure I have the time to put in 2 hours and still shower and make it to work on time. My goal is to get the incline up to 15% since that is around the incline I will have to travel up the south rim.

As a bonus since I have started this work out and the new diet two days ago I seem to be losing a pound a day. I do not expect that rapid weight loss to continue but it is an added bonus.

I was also thinking today, my brother and I were always competitive with each other and the rim to rim would be up his alley to beat his little sister. I am sure when the time comes and I am running across the Grand Canyon I will miss him even more than I still do, but I can’t help but think in some small way he will be running with me, urging me on, and taunting me to not give up when needed.

Either way it should be fun, if the training doesn’t kill me. The incline has my butt sore (laughs), working muscles that are not used to it My feet hurt (I need new running shoes) and my legs hurt. I think I am going to die trying *laughs*

I will keep you updated on my progress towards completing the rim to rim run..

L