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The Racial and Religious Paranoia of Trump's Poland Speech
The Atlantic ^ | July 6, 2017 | Peter Beinart

Posted on 07/07/2017 7:18:56 AM PDT by Ouchthatonehurt

In his speech in Poland on Thursday, Donald Trump referred 10 times to “the West” and five times to “our civilization.” His white nationalist supporters will understand exactly what he means. It’s important that other Americans do, too.

The West is not a geographic term. Poland is further east than Morocco. France is further east than Haiti. Australia is further east than Egypt. Yet Poland, France, and Australia are all considered part of “The West.” Morocco, Haiti, and Egypt are not.

The West is not an ideological or economic term either. India is the world’s largest democracy. Japan is among its most economically advanced nations. No one considers them part of the West.

The West is a racial and religious term. To be considered Western, a country must be largely Christian (preferably Protestant or Catholic) and largely white. Where there is ambiguity about a country’s “Westernness,” it’s because there is ambiguity about, or tension between, these two characteristics. Is Latin America Western? Maybe. Most of its people are Christian, but by U.S. standards, they’re not clearly white. Are Albania and Bosnia Western? Maybe. By American standards, their people are white. But they are also mostly Muslim.

(Excerpt) Read more at theatlantic.com ...


TOPICS: History; Religion; Society
KEYWORDS: europe; fakenews; globalism; westerncivilization
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To: Ouchthatonehurt

Where do people flee to when their own country or “civilization” becomes too chaotic? Oh, that would be “the West!” Moron.

Yes, all of Eastern Europe, with its white/Christian (government dominated atheistic) population was NOT “the West” when they were under the heel of the Soviet boot.


41 posted on 07/07/2017 7:58:27 AM PDT by EDINVA
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To: dowcaet

61% of muslims in America are 1st generation immigrants. They are here to colonize on behalf of a foreign power that builds and funds their mosques.

They want to live under Sharia Law, not Western Civilization.


42 posted on 07/07/2017 7:59:21 AM PDT by a fool in paradise ( Mr. Comey, did you engage in or know of ANY OTHER leaks?)
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To: Altura Ct.

Mr Beinart needs to take what I call “the Snowflake Challenge.” He must live for one week without availing himself of any benefit of the Western Civilization he decries. From a technological standpoint, that pretty much rules out anything involving electricity, transportation, clean water, processed, preserved or pastuerized food, use of any structure with most modern building materials, heating or air conditioning, and medical treatment.

Go for it big guy. Bet you don’t make it two days.


43 posted on 07/07/2017 8:01:07 AM PDT by henkster (Ask your favorite liberal to take the "Snowflake Challenge.")
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To: Ouchthatonehurt

When interviewed for Western Media, the artist (now deceased) said this and other similar paintings depicted trees.

But she seemed to paint an awful lot of pictures of exploding and burning trees with really big birds flying into them.


44 posted on 07/07/2017 8:02:27 AM PDT by Haiku Guy (eliminate perverse incentives)
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To: Ouchthatonehurt
Professor Obvious believes he's unwrapped the dark hidden meaning of that which Trump made perfectly clear. The only paranoia here is Breinart's.

Like most liberal elites, Breinart doesn't believe that the cultural and social institutions that are unique to European peoples have intrinsic value or are worth preserving, so he simply can't fathom why Trump or anyone else might think otherwise.

45 posted on 07/07/2017 8:06:36 AM PDT by ek_hornbeck
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To: Haiku Guy

Exactly.

And we cannot bury our heads and not look at it ... not look at what these people are saying, writing etc. We must read it so we an expose it. It is VITAL that we do so.

WE MUST READ/SEE what these people are up to.

These are our enemies. We have to post their position just as you would radio the GPS position of your enemy in a war. This IS war ... a struggle to the death cultural war.


46 posted on 07/07/2017 8:12:42 AM PDT by Lorianne
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To: Ouchthatonehurt

Never mind the Trump speech in Poland, I want to know what the Atlantic and Peter Beinart have to do with the child pornography and child sex trafficking ring that was busted in Germany this week.

Why are they trying to distract from that much more important story with a blatantly false accusation against President Trump?

I can only surmise that it’s to cover up their involvement in the disgusting abuse of children. I won’t say they’re involved but it’s clear that they’ve got something to hide and for the best interests of everyone involved they should be immediately and thoroughly investigated and made to testify what they know about what happened in Germany!

THESE ARE SERIOUS ACCUSATIONS AND THE PUBLIC DEMANDS ANSWERS!!!


47 posted on 07/07/2017 8:19:41 AM PDT by MeganC (Democrat by birth, Republican by default, conservative by principle.)
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To: Redmen4ever
Poland and other eastern European countries became western after the fall of the Berlin Wall

Wrong, "westerness" is like gravity. If you drop the ball it will fall down, when barbarian Soviet regime collapsed those people automatically tended to establish political system according to their believes. It sits in people's minds. If you hold the ball, it does not mean that there is no gravity.
48 posted on 07/07/2017 8:20:12 AM PDT by Lukasz
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To: Ouchthatonehurt
The 'west' is a large group of civilized countries, which excludes every muslim country on the planet.
49 posted on 07/07/2017 8:30:03 AM PDT by wastedyears (Prophecy of sky Gods, the sun and moon)
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To: Ouchthatonehurt

Yet another globalist writer. Ugh.


50 posted on 07/07/2017 8:35:25 AM PDT by cdcdawg
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To: Insigne123
The “West” is in a cultural, not a past geographic context

Right. The culture of "the West" can be traced back to Jerusalem, which gave us the idea that life is journey, with a beginning and an end, not endless cycles of one damned thing after another; through Athens, which gave us the idea that human reason is capable of getting at the truth of things; through Rome, that gave us the idea that law was better than brute force; through the Medieval philosophers who gave us the idea that the universe is a rational place because it was created by a rational God, and thereby made science possible; through the Enlightenment that gave us the ideas of human freedom. That's "the West" that we want to preserve.

51 posted on 07/07/2017 8:37:06 AM PDT by JoeFromSidney
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To: Ouchthatonehurt

Bienart is an asshat.


52 posted on 07/07/2017 8:43:59 AM PDT by sauropod (I am His and He is Mine)
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To: Ouchthatonehurt

I am glad there was an excerpt. It succinctly showed the utter dumbassery of the writer and saved me reading the rest of his verbal flatulence.


53 posted on 07/07/2017 8:44:18 AM PDT by Sans-Culotte (Time to get the US out of the UN and the UN out of the US!)
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To: Altura Ct.

based on his world view, he likely resides in NY Upper West Side......the irony!


54 posted on 07/07/2017 8:47:54 AM PDT by GotMojo
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To: JoeFromSidney

No, Jerusalem is in the East. The term “West” was used by the ancient Greeks to distinguish Europe from Asia(ie the Middle East). Ancient Israel was most certainly the kind of culture that the Greeks had in mind when they drew a distinction between themselves and Middle Eastern peoples.


55 posted on 07/07/2017 9:32:59 AM PDT by WatchungEagle
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To: Lorianne
Nah. Like studying fake bills? You need the real thing, baby. Don't waste your time.

FR becomes a magaphone of the left. You need the know the real thing, and better.

56 posted on 07/07/2017 10:18:36 AM PDT by aspasia
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To: Haiku Guy
The painting is called "Day of Jubilation". It was painted by an Iranian abstract artist, and Amanpour has said it gives her great joy every time she looks at it.

Um, what is it?

Regards,

57 posted on 07/07/2017 10:19:25 AM PDT by alexander_busek (Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence.)
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To: Ouchthatonehurt
You are correct. The West is clearly about heritage; about generations of specific peoples building a civilization, step by step. It is about family continuity; about codes of honor, specific to specific peoples.

Only someone very deeply in the throes of the Left's war on reality, would find fault with those specific peoples celebrating their specific heritages.

Intellectually, the writer fails to make any point. That Trump inspired such pseudo-intellectual poseurs to gobble in print, in such silliness, demonstrates that he has not lost his master touch.

Thank God for Donald Trump!!

58 posted on 07/07/2017 10:29:55 AM PDT by Ohioan
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To: Lukasz

Clearly, “the west” has something to do with the location west. West of something. In the present case, west of the “near east.”

Is this merely a place such that, once defined, it cannot change?

Is this a place that can only change with the transplantation of people from that original place? The U.S. and Canada can be western, and also Australia and New Zealand, but not Bahamas.

Is this a place that can change but only in conjunction with (what I’ll call) superficial aspects of the western culture? For example, dress and mannerism (making allowance for the evolution of dress and mannerism over time)? So, the church in Africa may be Christian but it isn’t western.

OR … drum roll please … is “the west” something revolutionary? That is, the Enlightenment?

If it is the latter - and many people say it is - this revolution can be adopted by people not having any connection to the west except for their choice to join in.


59 posted on 07/07/2017 11:18:28 AM PDT by Redmen4ever (u)
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To: Ouchthatonehurt

Calling out those who mean to destroy your people is not paranoia.


60 posted on 07/07/2017 11:23:24 AM PDT by Jim Noble (Single payer is coming. Which kind do you like?)
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