A ray of light in the dark...

September 2007

Just about every day we are reminded of all of the ills we must face in this world since September 11th, 2001. For those Americans who have forgotten – after swearing to never forget – America was attacked in what was nothing short of an act of war. Unlike past wars throughout man's history, where the enemy was easily defined and identifiable by a specific geographic area of the world, their customs, uniforms and ideology crystal clear, this act of war came from those who walk freely among the civilized, throughout all parts of the world. They are an organized hierarchy of individual units or cells, bound by a single, religious based ideology which calls for submission by infidels or death. There is no ambiguous signal here. This is not a beef that can be negotiated honestly to a peaceful, amicable, solution any more than negotiations with Hitler bore peaceful results. They want America to submit to Islam or perish. Those are our only choices in their eyes, and since they are the ones carrying out the sneak attacks on the civilized world, theirs is the only one that counts with regard to the terms and conditions of this war. Some of us here in America get it. Many of us don't. But all of us need to get on the same page if we plan on prevailing, which I believe ultimately we will. My hard core conviction of victory stems from a very basic tenet of life, regardless of your religious affiliation. If you believe that God created all that we know and is, and if you revere the almighty in a manner that prompts you to live rightly, then you know God does not want false or forced believers as evidenced by God's gift of "free will" to man. You see, if God created all that is, God could have created man to automatically follow his word without question. He could have created man (and woman) to stand up, kneel down, or pick their noses everyday at 3pm if He wanted. But He chose to give man "free will."

That fact is all the evidence you need to know that whether you call God Allah, Yahweh, The Creator, or God, He no more wants false, or forced believers than you want cancer.

Unfortunately, this sound reasoning has been lost on mankind's history of attempted forced conversion of others under the threat of torture and death.

Where man got the idea that the Lord wanted him to force others to believe in His way is beyond me, given all of the clear evidence to the contrary. Radical Islam's proclamations of convert or die is simply the most recent example of man's need to impose his will upon others. Almost every religion in history has gone down the same cruel and unusual path at some point along the timeline of mankind. Most have come to realize the "free will" point noted earlier, and now, rightly, decry such actions as against the intent of Almighty God. I believe there is a special place for those who kill innocent people in the name of God, and it doesn't include something as physically mundane as seventy two virgins.

As most of America pauses this September to reflect upon the actions of the "Cowards Of Al Quaeda" on September 11th, 2001, it should be clear to anyone, that in the grand scheme of things, the actions of the perpetrators accomplished absolutely nothing except to extinguish over 3,000 innocent lives.

If they, as they claim, really believe in God, they should take time to reflect on their actions as well. After doing so, there is still time for them to repent and at least try and get themselves right with God. They will not escape mankind's justice for their act of violence too horrendous and offensive to a civilized world, but they may be able to save themselves a tortuous eternity by acknowledging the wrongness of their actions in the eyes of God, and asking for His forgiveness.

I urge all Americans to steel their resolve and do what needs to be done in order to preserve that which the Creator intended. To do anything less would be to turn a blind eye to light amidst the darkness. The light of knowing that which your enemy intends, so you can prepare accordingly, and prevail.

Wisdom beyond his years...

I remember back when I was twenty years old, circa 1980 for those interested in such things, and one thing I know for sure about that time in my life is that I knew nothing. Although you couldn't have told me that at the time. I was, to say the least, self absorbed, totally engaged in having a good time, completely immersed in sophomoric, immature activities, convinced I would be twenty forever. While I've always been a reflective, thoughtful sort, the exuberance of youth overwhelmed any sufficient rational thought at the time and my behavior was erratic and whimsical. I bring it up because recently my twenty year old stepson, Christopher, chose to join the United States Marines. He did not need to. Nor was he prompted to do so by an overzealous recruiter or circumstances. He is an extremely bright, good hearted example of wisdom beyond his years. While at his age, I was partying at Little John's nightclub at Tennessee Avenue in Atlantic City back in 1980, he's sweating out boot camp at Paris island, South Carolina right now. In retrospect, I probably would have benefited tremendously from a stint in the service of our great country rather than literally waste years thinking I was having a good time. Sure, it was a ton of fun, but hollow fun indeed, and wasteful in the sense that nothing of substance was really accomplished by me at that time.

What strikes me about Christopher, and his decision to enter one of the most prestigious military units in our nation's history, is that he is just as fun loving as I was at his age, but a whole lot smarter and mature. He is a wonderful son to have, and an even better human being, and while I have always avoided the temptation to tout family accomplishments via this publication over the ten plus years of publishing, his selfless act requires memorializing here, plus, I thought it will be fun to post a photo of Christopher on the day he was leaving for Paris Island at 4am, and then one after graduation from Boot Camp in November, just to see the difference his experience will make.

Back to fun...

Thanks for your indulgence regarding my column this month. True to our monthly mission of providing the most complete compilation of cool things to do, September is loaded with an abundance of festivals at the end of the month which will have your toes tapping and your good time meter clapping. Everything starts in our new monthly feature publication, "LIVE." We've taken our events section, as well as our casino Insider section, and have folded them into one publication found in the center of this magazine. From now on, you will find "LIVE"in each issue. In addition to that, every three months we will overprint "LIVE" by 25,000 copies and increase our distribution in the outer areas of North Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, and Delaware.

"LIVE" is all about what's going on in South Jersey in which you can participate in some fashion. As the name implies, if it's live it'll be in "LIVE," and our overprint editions in October 2007, January 2008, April 2008, and July 2008 will feature everything happening in South Jersey and Atlantic City's casinos for three full months. For more information on "LIVE" magazine please feel free to contact me directly at (609) 653-1123.

Dan Klein is publisher of the South Jersey Insider Magazine, as well as host of the weekly radio show by the same name, heard Saturdays from 1PM to 4PM on LifeRadio 1020 AM - WIBG.