Posted on 12/19/2003 1:05:52 AM PST by kattracks
The world's future is being decided at this time. Such moments are extremely rare in history. And when they have occurred, they have between two, not three, competing ideologies.But there are now three ideologies competing to shape the future of mankind. They are militant Islam, Western European secularism and socialism, and American Judeo-Christianity and capitalism. The first is being spread both peacefully and violently, the second is being spread peacefully, and the third is not being spread.
Though most people ignore the fact, almost all of the world's believing Muslims believe that all of mankind should be Muslim. This, in and of itself, is not troubling -- after all, most Christians would like the whole world to be Christian, and most Westerners would like the whole world to democratic. What is troubling is that if only 10 percent of these Muslims are prepared to use violence to impose their religion on others, we are talking about 100 million people.
This is the reason about one million non-Muslim Sudanese have been killed in the last 15 years -- because they are resisting the violent imposition of Islam by the Islamic government in Khartoum. This is the reason for the Muslim-Christian violence in Nigeria -- Christians there, too, are resisting the violent imposition of Islam. And this is the reason for Islamic terror -- to weaken those countries, particularly the United States and Israel, that stand in the way of an Islamic takeover.
The second ideology seeking to dominate the world is secularism and socialism as practiced in Western Europe and supported by educated elites around the world. This is a primary reason for the anti-American demonstrations in Western Europe and in the United States. They were far more against America (especially the America of George W. Bush) than they were against war. Most of these people could not care less about the wars of the world. They have been silent throughout the mass murder of Sudan's blacks, during the genocide in Rwanda, during China's crushing of Tibet, and during Saddam's wars against Iran, Kuwait and Iraq's own Kurds. American and European "peace" activists have found those atrocities and wars quite boring.
Western European socialists and their American (and Canadian, and Latin American) supporters are as passionate about secularism and socialism as believing Muslims are about Islam. And they want to dominate the world as much as militant Muslims want Islam to. Their vehicles are the United Nations, the European Union, international treaties such as the Kyoto Protocols, and international institutions such as the International Court.
Regarding the American way, there are serious impediments to its success.
First, while the first two ideologies -- Islam and socialism/secularism -- dominate many countries, the third ideology only dominates one -- America. There is no other country that claims to be Judeo-Christian and no other that has such strong support for capitalism and small government (the opposite of socialism). Therefore, while both the militant Muslims and the socialists/secularists have supporters around the world, American values have few. That is why America goes it alone -- with the partial exceptions of Israel and Britain, no other society has the same values as we do.
Second, neither Judeo-Christian nor capitalist values are secure in America. Many Americans, including almost its entire intellectual class, are as hostile to Judeo-Christian and non-socialist values as the militant Muslims and European socialists are.
Third, almost no one is teaching the next generation of Americans (as almost no one taught the present adult generation) what is unique, let alone superior, about American values. Our children are overwhelmingly educated by people who believe in Europe's values, not in ours.
As neither China nor the rest of Asia, nor Africa, nor Latin America are offering an ideology that can dominate the world, either Europe's, or the militant Muslims', or America's way of life will prevail.
But the American way can only prevail if Americans believe in it. That is why, as important as the military and ideological battles against militant Islam are, the most important battle is the ideological one within America. But with America's universities, unions, professional associations, mainstream news media, and one of its two major parties ideologically aligned with Europe, and with big businesses constantly undermining Judeo-Christian values, the battle within America itself for America's unique values is far from won. And given that only America offers a viable alternative to both militant Islam and secularism/socialism, if we lose the battle here, humanity has a very dark future.
© 2003 Creators Syndicate, Inc.
The world's future is being decided at this time.
Such moments are extremely rare in history. And when they have occurred, they have between two, not three, competing ideologies.
There will be no second-place winner, no "third way" solution-- it is March or Die time, folks.
It is Us versus an eighth-century "culture" of plunder, forced religious "conversions," and the mistreatment of women.
The sooner we face up to this fact realistically and quit dancing around PC talking-point nonsense about diversity and tolerance, the better off we'll all be.
We did not pick this fight- which really has roots in Jimmy Carter's appeasement in 1979 of militants- but we had damned well better see it for what it is, and be prepared to face it and finish it.
I'll put it in raw, personal terms-- I don't want Sharia law visited upon my women, and I don't want a goat-roper "culture" infesting my land.
I don't want their vile, nasty, loathsome weapons of mass destruction loosed upon my fair country, either.
They picked the fight, and now it is up to us to finish it- balls to the wall, hammer and anvil, fire and blood and iron... freedom is never, ever free, and the coin you pay it in is men's lives and tears and blood.
What we saw during Gulf War I was our military doctrine ( high tech ) versus Soviet doctrine ( throw a lot of low tech iron at the problem )-- and we all know how that turned out.
What we have just seen in the 3-Week War is Information-Tech,
( What some are calling it Hyperwarfare... )
or 21st Century warfare versus 20th Century...
What I would suggest, and call your attention to, is the fact that we, and Israel, are capable of waging 21st Century warfare, and the entire Arab world is not.
Proven fact, by recent events.
One more thing- this will be a war where we are all called to be warriors- so I suggest to you that the time has come to get hard, and stay hard... it really is the time for fire and blood and Iron...
Capitalism is the way to prosperity and in that sphere America is winning hands down. Consumerism is irresistible that's why Walmart is the biggest company in the world.
That's why Islam has turned militant, they are against the freedom that prosperity brings.
So it is not Christianity vs. Islam.
Frame your argument as prospeority vs. continued deprevation and you will have captured the crux of the issue.
BUMP
What I'm seeing is our third generation (maneuver) warfare (the 3 weeks, recent tactics in Iraq, most of our tactics in Afghanistan) struggling against 4th generation warfare, often called, but not limited to, terrorism. The rest of the time, our military isn't even fighting, they are administering a welfare state in Iraq. I don't have the answers, but I know that nation-building is an ineffectual response to terrorism.
I think the author is making a point you are overlooking. There is a third way...the European way. I agree that they are also deeply threatened by militant Islam, but they are not fighting the fight. They are not locked in a 'fight to the death' they are rather comfortable letting us bear the burden and cost. Indeed their socialism cannot bear the cost...and our system bearing the cost makes theirs look more sustainable. But at the end of the day, they are going to appease and appease. I am not certain whether they will be gobbled up peacemeal (rhineland, austria, sudetenland, the rest of Czech) or eventually stand and fight (Poland). I think the former and hope the latter.
Make no mistake big swaths of Europe sees us as the enemy, not allies in the current struggle.
This is the fundamental difference between the secular/socialist block and the US-style capitalist block. The top layer of academics in the US, as in Europe, is socialist. The difference is the PEOPLE of the US are, still, basically capitalist even after a half century of socialist programming by the socialist elites.
The good news is that the same populist tendancy toward capitalism is alive and flourishing in *MANY* countries, and the people in these countries will eventually defeat the self-proclaimed elites, who have depended on INFORMATION to set themselves up as the ELITE (e.g.- they are "better educated" and "know better" -- hence they "deserve to lead")
Perhaps I am pollyana-ish in believing the the Internet and the WWW in particular is the fatal poison which will destroy "socialism" at is core. After all, the fundamental characteristic of socialism is that the decisions are in the hands of the "experts" -- with google, we can ALL be experts if we want to be badly enough...
But I disagree with your notion that capitalism solves all. Osama is a wealthy man. Many of the mullahs are not poor, yet they hate with an unparalelled ferocity.
You cannot escape the Christian aspects of this issue. Were there no Christians and Jews, most of the world would be under Islamofascist dictatorships.
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