"Bali Global Wake" - 12 Dec 2002 -
 

In honor of the victims of the Bali bombing atrocities, and to preserve our way of lives of leisure and global travel and interactions, I would like to propose to the<BR>global civilized world a "Bali Global Wake" - 12 Dec 2002 - http://www.indo.com/baliglobalwake. Your<BR>participations, comments, and suggestions are greatly welcome - we cannot do it without<BR>your support... (To those who have already pledged your support in the past few hours that the site is up - thank you -<BR>you reaffirm my faith on humanity and the power of Internet...)<BR><BR>Please forward this to friends and colleagues, government officers, tourism people...<BR><BR>God bless us all...<BR>

Not trying to be a smarta-- here, but which/whose god do you propose to bless us. That is the cause of the whole mess.

Oh come on, Dan. How about whatever God you like? I'm an atheist myself, but I would describe the people who commited this atrocity as "godless" in the sense of "wicked, evil, sinful" as my dictionary gives the second meaning.<BR><BR>Most of the world's religions consider it the highest offense to their God to commit murder, which is exactly what the bombers did.

Marilyn, you are right, of course. I just get a little uptight about the wielding of religion in general. And I certainly have no beef with the poster of this thread. Still, IMHO, "god" is better diplomatically left out of global discussions, as a 'red herring' that seperates instead of warms.

Dan, I generally agree with you, and I am certainly no fan of organized religion in any form, including the one I was raised in. <BR><BR>However I think there are cultural differences to be sensitive to, and whatever people turn to for comfort or healing after such terrible events, I am willing to respect their needs. <BR><BR>Also, fyi, Prayitno was the person who posted just after the bombing with contact info for those who were trying to locate friends and family in Bali. So I have a soft spot in my heart for him. (I think you're a him, Prayitno?)<BR><BR>PS You get lots of points in my book for carrying on this discussion with reason and good will (do we ever need more of both!) rather than going ballistic as so many people on these forums do when they feel the least bit criticized. Thanks!

Glad to see you could praise someone for basically agreeing with you without getting angry. (&quot;You get lots of points in my book for carrying on this discussion with reason and good will&quot;) My guess would be you are both liberals who want to impose your set of beliefs on everyone else while simulataneously claiming you either have no beliefs or are being neutral as to beliefs. (classic hypocrisy). Whether you think it or not, your belief that religion has no place in public life or discourse is a &quot;belief&quot; and a choice. Either people who want to have the freedom to worship in public or pray in public are allowed to, or people who are offended by anything they don't believe in are allowed to silence everyone else.

Thank you Prayitno, Dan, and Marilyn. I always enjoy a good discussion about travel on a travel web board.