More From Academia: Blame the U.S.

Westchester Rockland Newspapers ^ | August 2, 2004 | ERNIE GARCIA

[TBP]

.

[TBP]

Once again, academics blaming America. What else is new?

These guys refuse to understand that the U.S. is the defender of freedom in the world.

[Tulane]

They are like patients who feel a lump in their breats but spurn a visit to the doctor because the result is too terrifying to comprehend. Thus, they pick an excuse...oh the lump is a cyst....

Unfortunately, the fact is, people in the Muslim world hate us. They want to kill us and our children. It sucks. It is frightening. It is true. Some believe this proverbial lump is nothing more than a cyst. Some, like Bush, refuse to wait until the tumor spreads.

[joesnuffy]

Michael Moore and "Hatriotism"
Ergun Mehmet Caner
Baptist Press

LYNCHBURG, Va. < He was lauded with a 20-minute standing ovation at the
Cannes Film Festival. A.O. Scott of The New York Times called his movie a
"passionate expression of outraged patriotism." At the June showing of
"Fahrenheit 911" before the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Science in
Los Angeles, he received a standing ovation for over a minute.

But in his recent work, Michael Moore spits in the face of true patriots.

I know that Moore is first and foremost a provocateur and thrives on
controversy; he is only too happy that his critics give him free advertising
for his film. But, his contempt for democracy demands rebuke.

Despite the evidence proving otherwise, Moore claims that he has a "dogged
commitment to uncovering the facts." In reality, he is a purveyor of
"hatriotism" to anti-American critics here and abroad. Even as Islamic
extremists in Iraq severed yet another innocent person's head, Moore ignored
that the fledgling freedom there is under attack.

Hatriotism is the new chic in American media. But criticizing democracy and
America has long been in vogue in continental Europe, with detractors
alternately caricaturing Americans as "naive" and "brutish."

After an initial fair and balanced look at our efforts to free the peoples
of Afghanistan and Iraq, the American media's coverage now has deteriorated
to negative portrayals of our soldiers and their sacrifices. The trend is to
showcase professional protesters mocking America and President Bush, while
dismissing the monumental changes that have been won.

Hatriotism ignores that America has freed my kinsmen.

I am a Persian Turkish immigrant raised as a Sunni Muslim, and in the
interest of full disclosure, I must state that I left Islam in 1982, the
same year I became an American citizen. Moore states that his film is a call
to true patriotism. But as one who has lived in both worlds, I don't see his
devotion to the welfare of this country or to those countries America seeks
to liberate in this war against terrorism.

The present conflict is not a war against Islam, and neither is it a "war
for oil." American troops have died protecting Muslims, and there are easier
ways to obtain oil. This is a war of ideologies, and Moore showcases his in
"Fahrenheit 911."

His film features Lila Lipscombe, a mother in Flint, Mich., who sent her
sons to the military and "lives to regret it." Roger Friedman of FOXNews.com
described Lipscombe's story as "unexpectedly poignant."

I wonder ? was Moore equally moved about the honor killings which daily
threatened the lives of Muslim women in Afghanistan? Was he equally outraged
about female circumcision that mutilated generations of Afghan women?

In fact, I wonder ? where were all the "hatriots" when our soldiers freed
the women of Afghanistan from the oppressive rule of the Taliban? Where were
the feminists when our soldiers liberated Afghanistan's women to go to
school and to work and to vote?

The irony is hatriots like Moore enjoy the right to free speech because
American men and women have shed their blood to protect our Constitution and
the freedoms it guarantees ? the same freedoms America seeks for the peoples
of Iraq and Afghanistan. I welcome Moore to visit my homeland to make a
movie criticizing Turkish oppression and see what happens.

Islamic theocracies do not allow the religious freedom or freedom of
expression that democracy affords. The best the Islamic republics can offer
is "religious toleration." Based on the "Pact of Umar," religious toleration
allows non-Muslims to enter Islamic republics, but they must pay a tax
(jizyat). They can practice their faiths, but they cannot convert anyone
from Islam ? to do so means deportation or worse.

Further, Islamic prophecy foretells of worldwide conversion to Sharia law
under Islam, and the Taliban and al Qaida terrorists have appointed
themselves as the "holy warriors" who would make this prophecy true. So,
President Bush is half-right. We are not at war with Islam. But, Islam is
largely at war with us.

And Michael Moore is blind to it all.

I would fight and die for a Muslim's right to build a mosque in every city
in America. Our soldiers are fighting to gain such freedom of religion and
expression for Iraqis and Afghans. These are not freedoms that Islam offers.

Our soldiers also are fighting to preserve Michael Moore's freedom to
produce works that mock democracy, denigrate our leaders and even ridicule
the military ? without him having to fear death by stoning or beheading
while executioners chant "Allah hu Akbar."

It has become fashionable for Moore and his fellow hatriots to say, "I
support the troops, but not the war." This is akin to saying, "I support
doctors but not surgery."

Let me state emphatically: I support the troops and their mission.

There is a final irony. In his film, "Roger and Me," Moore chased an
automobile executive for an interview. Now, a young film producer, Michael
Wilson, is making a documentary titled, "Michael Moore Hates America." He
continues to pursue Moore for an interview, but Moore has dodged him at
every turn. The worm has turned.

Patriotism should not be confused with cynicism, skepticism and criticism.

Nor should hatriotism be confused with the bravery, honor and sacrifice that
makes men free.


Ergun Mehmet Caner is coauthor of "Christian Jihad" (Kregel, June 2004) and
professor of theology and church history at Liberty University in Lynchburg,
Va.

© 2004 Southern Baptist Convention, Baptist Press. All rights reserved.
Used with permission.