'A Mighty Heart' and America

The real world is very different from the world some of us imagine. 'A Mighty Heart," the film adaptation of the events surrounding the murder of journalist Daniel Pearl, shows us how very dangerous and fragile a large part of our seemingly insular world really is. From a film standpoint, 'A Mighty Heart' hardly ranks among even the best movies in theaters this month, but its true strength comes in the movie's presentation of Karachi, Pakistan, and the Arabic world.

I don't think I could endorse Ron Paul for President, but his view about blowback and hatred from the Arabic world represent one of the lone rays of truth and awareness in the Republican party right now. The United States can't afford to be governed by a leader whose short-sighted actions can and will set off decades of anger, only increasing the likelihood of terror cells breeding in a discontented Middle East. It's unfortunate that Mitt Romney, Rudy Giuliani, and nearly the entire Republican party's candidates see America as the only decider on the world's stage.

As we begin to acknowledge the rising power of China and Russia it's important that we recognize the people of the Middle East not as Jihadists and murderers, but rather as fellow men in the human quest for happiness, safety, and prosperity.