Dear editor:
This republic presently has two potential nominees for president of the United States: Mr. Trump and Mrs. Clinton. They both have "ideas" of how to curb terrorist violence. Mrs. Clinton focuses on the weapons used, as if greatly diminishing the availability of such weapons will curb violence. Mr. Trump focuses on diminishing the inflow of persons from certain areas of the world, as if the United States can't produce its own terrorists.
The "root cause" of violence isn't the weapons used, and it isn't the person's origin. If the Bible is truth, the "root cause" is bitterness:
Hebrews 12:15 ... lest any root of bitterness springing up (cause) trouble, and many are being defiled via this!
"Bitterness" is an internal desire for vengeance because of a personal hurt, often leading to its twin: rebellion; the True End of unresolved anger. Or, it is the lasting pain of a great loss resulting in mourning and depression that can prod a person to benefit others (this latter not necessarily leading to wrongdoing, as in Naomi's case in the Book of Ruth, where it greatly benefited others).
Political and religious shepherds have so much power regarding bitterness: they can greatly increase it among "the sheep," as Hitler mastered, and they can either greatly diminish it or prod those "sheep" to act according to the second definition above, doing good toward others. If a shepherd diminishes bitterness among followers, or teaches how to use bitterness to do others good and not harm, that shepherd is wise. (That shepherd is also very rare among political shepherds and religious shepherds.)
These things are also true in the various branches of the military. When those who are being trained to go into combat are prodded to action against an enemy using bitterness, that weakens those being trained, since combat presents such terrible contrasts: women and children, some being caught in the fight without desiring to fight or die, being slaughtered by both sides. The fighter who fights with bitterness has been trained for cruelty and coldness, and not for wisdom when terrible moral conflicts arise. That fighter is a perfect candidate for Post-traumatic stress disorder.
The wise person determines to make friends when possible; the foolish person determines to focus on increasing hatred of enemies, and on blaming the wrong things (like objects) for what is occurring.
Is it wrong for those in a religion to target others in other religions for destruction in order to enhance the power of their religion and their deity? It is equally wrong to target others in other cultures for exclusion in order to supposedly enhance the safety of one's own group. This act of bitterness is the basis of racism, and racism always declares the superiority and importance of the targeted group! (Anyone who speaks often of any group "glorifies" that group, showing how much power that group has!)
A wise shepherd will help lost sheep of another shepherd rather than exclude them; that is being a good neighbor.
James Wilson
Hot Springs
Editorial on 06/26/2016