Oh Conspiracy

"Oh conspiracy, raisest thou thy ugly head?" is a line from Macbeth. I read Macbeth about fifty years ago. That line stuck with me. It just seems so appropriate today.

Don't get me wrong. I am no conspiracy theorist. I will admit, however, that it is difficult not to be in this day and age. I find this particularly true in reference to the selling of Islam. For most of my life I have been, at least, aware of the Muslim faith. As a kid I read about Ali Baba and the "Adventures of Sinbad". I also read the "Thousand and One Nights". (Kid's version) Allah and Mecca were familiar, as was Mohammad.

But that was the extent of it. I went to college with Muslims. We all got along fine. We were not the "Great Satan" and none of us had anything to do with the Crusades or Muslim forays into Gaul and Iberia.

Since the reorganization of the Middle East after WWII, unrest has been increasing at an increasing rate. Various Muslim sects started killing other Muslims, Jews, Christians, Kurds, and on and on. We ended up planting our feet right in the middle of it. 

We became the "Great Satan" and a target for jihad. Both groups and lone wolves desired to bring jihad to us. They tried. Some were tragically successful. And we elected a new President.

The new President assured us that Islam was a religion of peace. All else was misunderstanding. I saw no evidence of this as a lot of blood was flowing. People were being beheaded, stoned, hung, and women were being mutilated. But still the administration insisted that Islam was peaceful. All of Washington seemed to take up the refrain.

Now I see in the schools, they are teaching Islamic prayers and reciting the "Pledge of Allegiance" in Arabic. Now, in Wisconsin, one High School is have a "lets pretend we are Muslim" learning session.

I see groups promoting shariah law in the United States. I'm even seeing Islam based clues in crossword puzzles. Al Qaeda has training camps on US soil. ISIS has a camp in Mexico, just south of our border and is running their people into the country. I thought Mexico was supposed to be a friend. Why would they allow this?

Just because I am not a conspiracy theorist does not mean I cannot say, "Oh conspiracy, raisest thou thy ugly head?"