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Jewish World Review Dec. 1, 2010/ 24 Kislev, 5771 Leakers and Losers By Arnold Ahlert
http://www.JewishWorldReview.com |
The Wikileaks fiasco reveals many things about many people, and despite the mainstream media's attempt to equate it to a "diplomatic 9/11," much of it appears to be far less than that. At this point in time, is anyone really surprised that so many people in high places are as venal, self-interested, conniving and incompetent as the rest of humanity? All of the details of such human shortcomings are interesting--but not as interesting as the American cultural divide the release of these documents reveals.
As regular readers of my column know, I consider this administration and the current Congress one of the worst one-two combinations in American history. But unlike the terminally adolescent whiners who are the first to say "this is not my president or my Congress" whenever the nation elects people with whom they disagree, this is one American who respects the Constitutionally-created institutions of the country, regardless of who occupies them. No doubt for the foamers-at-mouth, for whom "gotcha!" is the only arrow in their ideological quiver, such a distinction is anachronistic. Perhaps they might consider finding out why the Founding Fathers created a democratic republic instead of a direct democracy.
But I digress. In keeping with my respect for America's institutions, it is unquestionable that those people who occupy positions of power within them must have some reasonable level of privacy to express their candor, to float ideas that may never see the light of day, and to talk in ways that might be embarrassing if such thoughts were made public. Whether it is Barack Obama talking off the record with union labor leaders, or Dick Cheney conferring with oil executives is irrelevant.
Those who feel differently might consider what the alternative might engender. A totalitarian dictatorship comes immediately to mind. One where any individual expressing the slightest disagreement with the official party line is shipped off the the nearest Gulag for a long stretch in prison--and perhaps a stint in some "re-education" chamber as well.
Yet one suspects that even the cheerleaders of the document dump are not that naive. So what's the real reason these people consider Wiki-leaker Julian Assange and his alleged supplier, Pfc. Bradley Manning, "heroes?"
Because they are members in good standing of the Hate America club. For them, America itself is a criminal enterprise, a seething cauldron of imperial war-mongers, "evil" corporations, etc., etc. It is a country which must be taken down a notch whenever the opportunity presents itself, even if doing so jeopardizes the nation itself---and maybe the world as well. They assume everything is a conspiracy until proven otherwise, and that no politicians--other than the ones with whom they agree one hundred percent--are anything other than "traitors to the cause." For them, the Wikileaks dump represents an orgasmic expression of "speaking truth to power," and if it puts people in mortal danger by revealing their allegiance to American interests, such people only getting what they deserve for supporting such a fundamentally corrupt nation. Who are the America haters?
Overwhelmingly, they are who they have always been: progressives. The ones who inevitably throw a temper tantrum when human beings behave as they are, instead of how progressives think they should behave. The ones whose smug sense of superiority dovetails quite nicely with their contempt for those who dare to question that superiority. The ones who are positive the whole world would be one big amusement park of peace and prosperity, just as soon as we purged human nature from human beings--by any means necessary.
On the other side of the divide are Americans who believe this country is fundamentally exceptional. They are the people who understand that the world is what it is, and that much of it is controlled by some thoroughly evil people. People who must be managed in ways that require every "weapon" in America's arsenal from diplomacy to outright war in order to protect American interests. How we go about protecting those interests may often be ill-conceived, stupid or petty, but once again, people should consider the alternative. Which nation would the aforementioned America Haters prefer to be the world's leading influence? As we are learning about an Obama administration suffused with such leanings, the answer is no one. All nations are "equally exceptional," as the president himself once remarked.
Yet, reality, as in "power abhors a vacuum," bites. If America retreats someone will advance. Thoughtful Americans recognize that the Julian Assanges of the world couldn't care less which nation that would be, as long as America gets its comeuppance. Such people include Pfc. Bradley Manning who doubtless believes he did the right thing, regardless of the consequences. Yet it is quite easy to tear down the existing order when one has no responsibility for replacing it with something else. In reality, Assange is a malicious fool and Bradley is an American traitor. Both men fail to realize that in a "New World Order" dominated by, for example, either the Chinese or Islamic radicals, both men would be congratulated--and then promptly executed.
Is there any valuable lesson to be learned from this fiasco? Only the terminally naive would be surprised that most people behave like people. Nothing here is particularly shocking, be it Chinese impatience with North Korea or the duplicitous nature of the Saudi Arabians who underwrite terrorists, even as they implore us to take out Iran. Nor is it surprising that Senator John Kerry would sell out Israel, or that Hillary Clinton is hardly a statesman-like Secretary of State. Those who are "surprised" are undoubtedly the same people who bought "hope and change" without the slightest idea of what it truly meant. For them the world will always be full of surprises.
There is, however one lesson we have learned, and it is a daunting one: cyber-security may be an oxymoron.
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© 2010, Arnold Ahlert |
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