I have a friend on facebook who answered the profile question regarding political views as "the right ones", and his religious views as "not a big fan". He graduated JD Cum Laude, John Marshall Law School in 2000.
On September 11, he posted the following status/follow-up comment, due to the limitations of space allowed in facebook posts:
"XX is disturbed that some people may feel that his nuanced opinions on certain issues make him less of an American. I would remind these people that as an American Indian I am likely one of the only true Americans that they know.
As one of the few true Americans that most of my friends know, meaning that I am 1/8 American Indian, I would remind people that over 11,000,000 Indians have died as a direct result of colonization of our native lands. When you consider the death toll of 3,000 lives at WTC (which is horrible and inexcusable by any stretch) remember that no less... ... Read More3,666 Native Americans have died for every person that died in WTC. This of course is more than a similar event every day for a year. Just something to think about when you refuse to look for deeper truths and more meaningful lessons to be learned."
My response:
"And just how many "true Americans" died in internecine warfare during, and after the colonization of "their" land, not to mention from the time they themselves migrated from the Russian steppe, over an ice bridge, onto the North American continent?
I really don't care about how much "Native" American you are, to try to place things in that nonsensical a perspective is insulting."
Earlier in the day, he had a wall post about how his perception of many people's patriotism is "blindly following a flag, and stop questioning what's right", and how it seemed to be somehow connected to 9/11.
I followed up my comment above with the following:
"And I don't just mean the comment, but all your musings regarding patriotism.
To me, true patriotism means a Hell of a lot more than following a flag, and certainly more than trying to get people to question their own feelings on the matter with some holier-than-thou stance.
I do apologize if I seem to be taking a tone, but this self-important, "I'm too good to blindly follow" attitude that many of my generation have pisses me right the Hell off.
You want to eschew religion, patriotism, or any other belief system you like, by all means go ahead. That is your right. But don't you dare claim some moral superiority because of it.
Just as my belief in some things doesn't make me better than others, your disbelief of the same doesn't make you better than anyone else.
To forestall people attacking me, you certainly have a right to your opinion, and thank God for it. But if you are going to express it in a public forum, such as facebook, be prepared for other opinions to come at you."
Long story short, this person seems to be an individual who thinks that his opinion is just the pinnacle of all that is around him. He seems to be agnostic, having the opinion that once a person's soul gains heaven, they have no reason to be nice, ergo, Heaven is filled with a$$holes, whereas Hell is filled with people who are trying to be nice enough to get out of it.
Was I wrong to lay into this person as I did? Please note, the term friend is used in the context of facebook. This is not actually a person with whom I interact outside of that forum.
