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Jewish World Review
April 6, 2011/ 2 Nissan, 5771
It Takes a Bigot to Expose a Death Cult
By
Arnold Ahlert
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http://www.JewishWorldReview.com |
According to Britain's Daily Mail, Florida Pastor Terry Jones, who burned a copy of the Koran after a six-hour mock trial, "has been directly responsible for a wave of violence that began last night (April 2) and has left 30 people dead and more than 150 injured. The defiant stance has led General Petraeus, the head of NATO forces in Afghanistan, to join international condemnation of pastor Jones." Let me begin by stipulating that what Mr. Jones did was both stupid and provocative. At the same time, the reaction to his stunt is quite fascinating on a number of levels, most of which center around the reality that Western culture is besieged by weak thinkers, apologists and appeasers. What Mr. Jones did was personally self-destructive. The reaction to it may be culturally suicidal.
First, weak thinking. The contention that Mr. Jones is "directly responsible" for the deaths and injuries perpetrated by Islamic thugs half-way around the world is preposterous. It wasn't Mr. Jones who participated in three days (so far) of violence that has left 20 dead and 83 wounded in Afghanistan, including the beheading two UN guards in the northern city of Mazar-i-Sharif. Nor has he participated in the scores of violent demonstrations taking place across the Middle East, many of which were ginned up by local imams broadcasting Jones's comments from loudspeakers mounted on moving vehicles, in response to the book burning.
So why characterize Jones as directly responsible? Because to do so allows those who refuse to view the "religion of peace" through anything other than rose-colored glasses to continue their vacation from reality. It is a vacation which began almost immediately following 9/11--for which many of the same weak thinkers blamed "imperialist" American foreign policy instead of the attackers themselves--when George W. Bush insisted, with no supporting evidence whatsoever, that the "majority of Muslims are on our side."
Really? That would mean out of the approximately 1.5 billion Muslims who inhabit the planet, at least 750 million of them are in favor of...what, exactly? Our three interventions in Iraq, Afghanistan and now Libya? How about our Constitutional determination not to endorse a state religion? Equal rights for women and non-believers? Certainly not freedom of speech, as this latest incident reveals.
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Perhaps the Obama administration could do the country a big favor and tell of us what the parameters are for one to be considered a "pro-Western Muslim." And perhaps some of the weak thinkers might explain why a person who puts a Christian crucifix in a jar of urine, or covers a portrait of the Virgin Mary with elephant dung is considered an artist, even as Jones is considered a provocateur.
Thus, the double-standard of the apologists is revealed. It is the typical double-standard which posits that one particular group of people--in this case Muslims--can not possibly be expected to conform to standards which apply to everyone else. This "plantation mentality," which has been applied at various times to other sub-groups, wraps bigotry in a patina of compassion. Thus, Muslims reacting to Mr. Jones by perpetrating violence and murder become, not only perfectly understandable, but apparently absolvable as well, as the focus of "international condemnation" directed at Jones, far more than the perpetrators of violence themselves, indicates. The unspoken assumption? The essence of apologism: Muslims are less "evolved."
Two thoughts arise. First, how does one square such apologism with multiculturalism, which posits that all cultures are equally viable? The West and Islam are equal, but Islam gets a special pass regarding censorship and violence? Good luck with that. Perhaps the three European leaders, Britain's David Cameron, France's Nicolas Sarkozy, and Germany's Angela Merkel, who have contended that multiculturalism is a "failure," might be asked whom they hold "directly responsible" for the current violence. Second, will the media sources which made Jones's provocation international news be willing to accept equal shares of the "direct responsibility" they so easily ascribe to the Florida preacher? Without their "help," Jones is little more than an obscure Gainesville, FL hot head firing up some locals. Now he's a man with a $2.4 million fatwa on his head, courtesy of some "less-evolved" Pakistanis who are "understandably" upset. If Jones gets killed, will the media be internationally condemned for provoking his murder?
Which brings us to appeasement. While it is entirely understandable that General Petraeus, as well as the families with loved ones in harm's way in the Middle East and elsewhere, are upset with Jones, it might be pointed out that such feelings can be selective. When Senator Harry Reid concluded that the "war was lost" in Iraq, one is hard-pressed to recall the General, or anyone else, joining a chorus of "international condemnation" against the Nevada Senator. Apparently Jones's incitement of the enemy is a greater sin than Reid giving them aid and comfort, but this writer is at a loss to understand why.
Perhaps what the General is inadvertently revealing is that American soldiers are at greater risk when one provokes one's adversary than when one gives them reason to hope. Perhaps that is what happens when the initial reasons for prosecuting the war on terror have been obscured by politically correct jargon. Ten years ago, Americans signed on for "war" in order to achieve "victory" against "Islamic terrorists." What they did not sign on for was an "overseas contingency" or "kinetic" military operation against "undefined insurgents" in which "nation-building and "winning hearts and minds" has replaced victory--especially when, after ten years, seemingly all of it can be undone by the actions of a single ranter in Florida.
As for Mr. Reid himself, his shamelessness along with Senator Lindsey Graham's fecklessness, was on display Sunday on CBS' Face the Nation. Both men were looking for ways, not to condemn Islamic violence, but to censor Terry Jones. "Ten to 20 people have been killed," said Harry Reid (D-NV) "We'll take a look at this of course. As to whether we need hearings or not, I don't know." Perhaps we could also hold hearings on how many Americans were killed as a result of Senator Reid's words. "I wish we could find a way to hold people accountable. Free speech is a great idea, but we're in a war," said Linsey Graham (R-SC), oblivious to the idea that one of the reasons we're in a war is to protect free speech.
There is no question that Terry Jones is an opportunist. Yet what would one call those Muslims who both incite and commit violence at the slightest provocation? It is worth remembering that when Newsweek falsely reported a Koran being flushed down a toilet at Guantanamo Bay in 2005, 15 people were killed in rioting. Former Seattle Weekly cartoonist Molly Norris has been forced into hiding--in the United States--after she became the target of a death threat following her "Everybody Draw Mohammed Day" satire for that newspaper.
The most compelling argument against what Jones did can be reduced to the idea that you don't swat a hornet's nest. Yet it is precisely that kind of self-censorship which allows the hornets to continue stinging whenever they choose to do so. This is one American who prefers to know exactly who can be moved to beheading someone by the burning of a book, rather than having that person remain in the shadows--even as I'm told there's a better than even chance he's on our side.
This is where the West's infatuation with political correctness has taken us. It is an ideological bankruptcy so profound, that we are reduced to a disturbing reality brought on by equal amounts of weak thinking, apologist inanity and reflexive appeasement:
It takes a bigot to expose a death cult.
To all of my readers: in today's column, I mistakenly referred to Harry Reid as the Senator from Arizona. He is the Senator from Nevada. My apologies to everyone--especially the citizens of Arizona. AA
Every weekday JewishWorldReview.com publishes what many in the media and Washington consider "must-reading". Sign up for the daily JWR update. It's free. Just click here.
Comment on JWR Contributor Arnold Ahlert's column, by clicking here.
Previously:
03/30/11: Charlie and Snookie --- and Barack
03/30/11: ‘Disabling’ America, One Lawsuit at a Time
03/28/11: The MSM Kills the ‘Kill Team’ Story
03/23/11: Another Military Scandal
03/21/11: Barry, Joe, Helen and Wisconsin Teachers
03/16/11: The Inevitable Viability of Conservatism
03/14/11: Progressives in Their Own Words
03/09/11: $61 Billion in Cuts --- Vs. $223 Billion in One Month of Spending
03/07/11: Bean Bag B.S.
03/02/11: A ‘Green’ Catastrophe in the Making
02/28/11: Ain't Noting Like the Real Thing
02/23/11: Progressive Rot vs. the ROTC
02/21/11: Wisconsin: Progressivism in All its Ugly Glory
02/18/11: News reporters --- or Narrative Shapers?
02/16/11: The Presidents Budget Proposal: An Obamination of Progressive Profligacy
02/14/11: Only Another 9/11 Will Alter the Illegal Immigration Status Quo
02/10/11: Is O'Reilly losing his touch or is he just irresponsible?
02/07/11: Tossing Britain Under the Bus
02/03/11: Starving the World In Order to Save It
01/31/11: Walking the Middle East Tightrope
01/27/11: Small-scale Terrorist Attacks: Big Strategy?
01/24/11: Jeffery Immelt: A Crony Capitalist In Charge of Job Creation
01/20/11: An ‘Intimate’ Prime-time Interview
01/17/11: Progressives: Always Angry, Newly Desperate
01/12/11: Twain vs. the Totalitarians
01/10/11: Politically Correct Passports?
01/05/11: Showdown at the Fiscal Corral
01/03/11: Reading the Constitution Aloud is a Good Start
12/30/10: Getting Our Moral Mojo Back
12/27/10: PC Airport Safety is an Oxymoron
12/23/10: Getting America Back On Track
12/20/10: A Collectivist Coalition of Convenience
12/15/10: The President Who Wasn't There
12/13/10: Tech-No!
12/08/10: A Lethal Military, Inclusive or Not
12/06/10: The ‘Unexpected’ Consequences of Progressivism
12/01/10: Leakers and Losers
11/29/10: ‘We Won’, Part One
11/22/10: Keep Your Hands Off My Constitution
11/17/10: Grope and Change
11/14/10: Taking Back Our Country, One School At a Time
11/11/10: Checks (and Balances), Please
11/08/10: Curtain Up, Progressives Down
11/04/10: Last Chance, Republicans
11/01/10: By Their Own Words Shall Ye Know Them
10/28/10: Progressive Determination to Undermine American Elections
10/25/10: Shock, but more importantly, action: De-Unionize Public Schools now
10/20/10: Multiculturalism? Check, Please
10/18/10: Healthcare: ‘Alice in Wonderland’ vs. The Constitution
10/11/10: Vote for Restoring the Rule of Law in November
10/11/10: Dems: Running From Clarity
10/07/10: Hypersensitive Hogwash
10/04/10: ‘Comprehensive’ Con Artists
09/29/10: Why Dems Are Going Down in November
09/27/10: The Unholiest of Unholy Alliances
09/22/10: Two Words for Republicans to Remember: ‘I Won’
09/20/10: Purging ‘Me First’ Politicians
09/17/10: No More ‘Lesser of Two Evils’
09/15/10: ‘Recovery’ Arms Race
09/13/10: ‘Bigots’ in the Majority --- Again?
09/09/10: Giving Voters Something to Vote For
09/07/10: Irresponsible Dems, Incomprehensible Bills
09/02/10: War Weary Americans vs. Implacable Islamists
08/31/10: A ‘Dream’ Debased
08/25/10: American ‘Bigots’ Versus Media Propagandists
08/23/10: Recovery Bummer
08/19/10: An Unholy Alliance of Radicals
08/16/10: You've Lost America, Mr. President
08/13/10: The Twin Towers of Progressive Disconnect
08/11/10: A Far Better ‘National Discussion’
08/09/10: It's ‘Only’ One Dead Nun
08/06/10: Incremental Tyranny
08/04/10: Ground Zero Mosque: Context Counts
08/02/10: The Arizona Ruling: a Gift for November
07/29/10: The United Cities of America
07/26/10: JournoList: ‘Coordinated’ Ideological Bankruptcy
07/20/10: Go For Broke Or Get Out of the Way
07/14/10: You're a Liberal/Progressive if You Believe…
07/12/10: $33-an-hour--For Sleeping On the Job
07/08/10: Extortionist Government
07/06/10: ‘Commerce Clause’ Totalitarians
07/01/10: Another Public School Travesty in MA
06/30/10: Calling YOUR Bluff, Mr. President
06/28/10: A Trifecta of Progressive Corruption
06/23/10: Plug the Darn Hole --- In Our Border
06/21/10: Our Empty-Suit-in-Chief
06/16/10: Betraying Our Children
06/14/10: Who Gets the Benefit of the Doubt?
06/07/10: Politically Correct Warfare
06/01/10: Bill Maher's ‘Black’ President
05/25/10: A Mosque At Ground Zero
05/23/10: Libs Stand Tall --- For Mexico
05/19/10: The 'Unintended Consequences' of Liberalism
05/17/10: 'Los' Suns: Stuck on Stupido
05/12/10: Union Audacity: Yes We Will!
05/10/10: Greeks, Leaks and and Double-Speak
05/05/10: Twelve Million Illegals --- or Thirty?
05/02/10: Republicans: Playing Not to Lose Doesn't Cut It
04/28/10: Arizona: Progressivism's Waterloo?
04/26/10: Son of Amnesty
04/22/10: Mortgages and Moral Meltdowns
04/20/10: Bashing Christians — Or Gays?
04/15/10: Personal Integri-‘tea’
04/12/10: Fools, Tools and Ghouls
04/08/10: (Tea) Party On
04/05/10: The Triumph of Mediocrity
04/02/10: Two For the Road
03/29/10: The Innate Immorality of Liberalism
03/24/10: The Art of War
03/22/10: I Want My Country Back
03/18/10: A Perpetual Process
03/17/10: American Exhibitionists
03/15/10: A Light Bulb Moment of Clarity
03/10/10: Little Things Mean A Lot
02/03/10: Budgetary Fork in the Road
02/01/10: Liberal Economic Illiteracy
01/27/10: ‘Roe-ing and Wade-ing’ Back to Reason
01/25/10: Arrogance When Up, Denial When Down
01/20/10: Connecting the Educational Dots
01/19/10: The Next Tea Party?
01/15/10: The Myth That Keeps on Giving
01/13/10: Airport Security Begins Away From the Airport
01/11/10: Secrets and Lies
01/08/10: Embracing Bigotry — or Rejecting Bullying?
01/06/10: Hanging by an Ideological Thread
01/04/10: Our ‘Wonderama’ Bureaucracy
12/30/09: A Day Off
12/28/09: Dangerous Myths
12/25/09: I, Me, Mine
12/23/09: A Very Harry Christmas
12/21/09: My Opinon
12/18/09: The Party of Repeal
12/15/09: Privileged Exemption
11/30/09: ‘Settled’ Science and Unsettled Children
11/30/09: American Sharia Law
11/23/09:The Trial (Travesty) of the Century
11/04/09: American Vampires and Their Political Enablers
11/01/09: ‘Opting Out’ of Insanity?
10/28/09: Cell Phones Cause Brain Cancer. Brain Required
10/26/09: Communism: Nazism With Better PR
10/21/09: Just Asking
10/16/09: Cost Projections vs. Actual Costs, or Hope and Change vs. Reality
10/14/09: News you can use …
10/07/09: Incremental Insidiousness
10/05/09: MIA: Common Sense and Common Decency
09/30/09: Iran: Bad Options and Unpreparedness
09/21/09: Crying Racism: the Last Refuge of Scoundrels
09/11/09: 9/11 Cannot Be Sanitized
09/08/09: ‘Truthers’ and Consequences
09/01/09: A ‘Paper Trail’ Challenge for the Mainstream Media
08/31/09: Drowning in Amorality
08/26/09: The Republican Recovery Program
© 2010, Arnold Ahlert
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