What's In a Word?

Although I am generally left-leaning in my thoughts, I have never been a big fan of political correctness. I generally tend to think that hyper-sensitivity to language can be as big a contributor to friction as insensitivity in language.

However, in this particular case, I applaud the State Department's choice to use a new lexicon that makes an effort to recognize the nuances in the Islamic faith and attempts to differentiate extremists from the rest of Islam. While this is like throwing a glass of water at the gasoline fire that is the virulent anti-Muslim sentiment in many parts of this country, it is a step in the right direction.

Contrast this to an old report that regarding John McCain that has been making the rounds again, where he defends his public use of the slur "gook" in reference to his Vietnamese captors. I understand that in time of war, it is common practice to refer to the enemy in dehumanizing terms. It does not make it right, but it has been done, and very extensively in World War II. Notice, however, that no one in their right mind today would use the same pejoratives to refer to the Japanese or the Germans.

This unfortunate tendency on the part of McCain, coupled with his recent repeated confusion between Shia and Sunni, do not speak well for his much-touted foreign policy credentials. While these may be written off as slips of the tongue, I believe it reflects a tendency to gloss over the finer differences that are critical to fighting the right enemy in the war on terror. After all, our path to Iraq was in part paved with the refusal to recognize these differences.

In His teachings, Christ went to extraordinary lengths to have us think about subtle differences. He also made it clear that all were welcome, both Jew and non-Jew. So, as people of faith, is it not incumbent upon us to try to extend our understanding of our Muslim brethren, whose spiritual ties with us can be traced back to Abraham?