Don't Tread on Me Either

So, as an American and as an artist I believe wholly in freedom of speech even when I don't like or agree with what is being said. I believe in the right to organize, to protest, and to fight for the things we believe in. That does not, however, stop my buttons from occasionally being pushed. Maybe I just strongly dislike it when people play the victim for all it's worth, and I definitely dislike when people throw daggers, even if it's unintentionally, at my religion. I love everyone to the best of my ability, it makes no difference to me what religion they practice, what color the skin they live in happens to be, what their political affiliations are, etc. I don't love everything people do, and I have a strong disdain for people who hurt others, whether physically, emotionally, financially, sexually, or otherwise. I especially dislike when people do these things in the name of their God; to me that represents a sort of blasphemy. If you want to do evil, then call it evil and do it because it's what your twisted mind tells you to do. Don't do it under the guise of following your own skewed form of religion, taking just what you like from your religious teachings and disposing of the parts which tell you to live life with love and in peaceful countenance with your fellows. And, when someone does do something like blows up a building or flies airplanes into office buildings full of innocent people, and then basically broadcasts that they are doing it because their religion tells them that American culture is decadent and sinful, lets call it what it is- murder!!! It seems to me that so many people want to critisize American culture and Americans in general, yet our country is full to the brim with new people moving here every day and American pop culture is alive and well in Europe. If you don't like us, don't try to be like us, okay??? I'm not sure I support the war that is going on. I don't agree with schools and playgrounds full of children being bombed and I hate violence of any kind. And when someone looks at me they should look at me as an individual American, not someone represented by Bush, who I did not vote for and whose ethics or lack thereof I do not agree with. They should look at me as the descendent of Irish immigrants who came here because they were bullied out of their country by the English, and who instead of simply playing the victim, rose above the prejudice and cruelty they encountered here in America to become a powerful, largely successful group of people. They should look at me as a woman who chose Judaism as my faith because I believe it to be (and know it to be through much study) a religion of love and family and a deep trust in God. I just read an article in which a woman is very angry about her religion being slandered. I don't blame her. The thing is, Islam is being given a bad rap because there are many Islamics in the world right now claiming that the evil acts they commit are okay because their religion tells them this is so (Islam does not tell them this is so; in fact, they have taken what they want from the Quran to support their right to violence and disregarded the parts that tell them to refrain from killing). Anyway, it pains me that people can't get along. If someone's beliefs are different from mine, and that person isn't threatening my right to practice my own beliefs, why should I feel angry that they don't believe what I do???? The three major religions of the world started out on the same path, sparked by God entering into a covenant with the Jewish people. If we all started out with the same God, what the hell are we fighting about??????