Wafa Sultan Speaks the Truth

I am sick of politics and religion. While my interest remains high, my appetite to engage in deep, continued discourse has severely diminished over the years. Primarily the continuing radicalization of society, with polarized opinions at the edges that have drained a shallow center, has contributed greatly to my apathy. As a believer in logic and reason I find the vitriolic and emotionally charged arguments of radicals increasingly tiresome. Radical opinion around the world has leveraged religious zeal and blatant misinformation to exploit naive sensibilities. Commonsense and humanity have been sacrificed at the alter of political power.

What I find scary in developing economies, is that the disaffected masses serve as prey, in a fertile breeding ground for hatred and violence. There is great frustration in their poor lives and unfortunately, religious leaders exploit that fervor for their own selfish motivations. However, what I find especially scary is that in developed economies the middle ground of reason has also been polarized by religious manipulation.

I have no problems with any religion. In its truest form, each major religion in the world preaches acceptance, peace, and love. However political exploitation of religion has lead to the creation of distorted faith across religions- personally I'd rather follow my own convictions than be associated with any label. As religion radicalizes the political center, the moral compass of society no longer points to true north- that is common sense. So in the world today, religion causes far more problems today, than it solves.

Surprisingly my frustration with politics and the faithful was succinctly and eloquently encapsulated by a Syrian-American psychiatrist living in Los Angeles. I hope you agree that Dr. Wafa Sultan speaks the truth.