[bcoffey]

I have a great deal of respect for Dr. Gelernter. He understands terrorism and terrorists first hand, because he has had a front row seat. For those who may not know, he lost both hands to one of the Unabomber's letter bombs.

[Dawgreg]

Good read.........thanks aculeus.

[Semper Paratus]

My best friend is a liberal of the blue collar variety and we were able to discuss and argue politics for years until this one. He drank the ABB Kool-Aid and warned me that we can talk and still be friends but convinced me, by a 30 second rant, that Presidential politics are off the table for this election.

I just hope this mass psychosis is temporary but I'm having my doubts.

[JennysCool]

Excellent! The Kitty Genovese comparison is very well made. Thanks so much for the post.

[ATOMIC_PUNK]

Bumps

[firewalk]

.

[luv2ski]

This is powerful indeed but how could he write such a piece? After all, he is conservative and conservatives are all dumb </sarcasm>.

[tomnbeverly]

I have been looking for a true explanation of why the left hate the President and this is definately an article that explains it to me... Somehow I start to feel sorry for those that are so hypnotized by the anarchists that they can't fathom the truth in Liberty's Century and I thank God every day that George W. Bush is in the White House.

[Jorge]

Excellent!

[RightWingAtheist]

The brilliant Dr. Gelertner does it again.

[NDJeep]

Definitely one of the best articles I have read that answers the question why I am so passionate about politics.

[txrangerette]

Wow! Just.....WOW!!!

[Verginius Rufus]

The survivor of Nazi Germany he quotes sounds a lot like George Soros, who was born in Hungary (occupied by German troops in March 1944).

[Bonaparte]

I'll be even more blunt than Gelertner. When we brought down the USSR, the left in this country resolved that America and all that is strongest in America must come down too.

That is why they hate George Bush. He loves America and represents what is good and strong in this country. They just can't stand it.

[lainde]

The left resists change much like my 4 year old nephew: Flopping on the floor screaming and kicking his heels. BTTT

[Tolik]

David Gelernter:

...Bush's greatness is often misunderstood. He is great not because he showed America how to react to 9/11 but because he showed us how to deal with a still bigger event--the end of the Cold War. The collapse of the Soviet Union in 1989 left us facing two related problems, one moral and one practical. Neither President Clinton nor the first Bush found solutions--but it's not surprising that the right answers took time to discover, and an event like 9/11 to bring them into focus.

In moral terms: If you are the biggest boy on the playground and there are no adults around, the playground is your responsibility. It is your duty to prevent outrages--because your moral code demands that outrages be prevented, and (for now) you are the only one who can prevent them.

If you are one of the two biggest boys, and the other one orders you not to protect the weak lest he bash you and everyone else he can grab--then your position is more complicated. Your duty depends on the nature of the outrage that ought to be stopped, and on other circumstances. This was America's position during the Cold War: Our moral obligation to overthrow tyrants was limited by the Soviet threat of hot war, maybe nuclear war.

But things are different today. We are the one and only biggest boy. We can run from our moral duty but we can't hide. If there is to be justice in the world, we must create it. No one else will act if the biggest boy won't. Some of us turn to the United Nations the way we wish we could turn to our parents. It's not easy to say, "The responsibility is mine and I must wield it." But that's what the United States has to say. No U.N. agency or fairy godmother will bail us out.

...But there are limits to our power. We must pick our tyrants carefully, keeping in mind not only justice but our practical interests and the worldwide consequences of what we intend. Our duty in this area is like our obligation to show charity. We have no power to help everyone and no right to help no one.

***

...We have paid a steep price in Iraq, a thousand dead; but if you choose duty, you must choose to pay. Speaking for America, the president has said: We choose duty. What do we get in return? Nothing. Except the privilege of looking at ourselves in the mirror, and facing history and our children.

Nailed It!
Moral Clarity BUMP !

This ping list is not author-specific for articles I'd like to share. Some for perfect moral clarity, some for provocative thoughts; or simply interesting articles I'd hate to miss myself. (I don't have to agree with the author 100% to feel the need to share an article.) I will try not to abuse the ping list and not to annoy you too much, but on some days there is more of good stuff that is worthy attention. I keep separate PING lists for my favorite authors Victor Davis Hanson, Lee Harris, David Warren, Orson Scott Card. You are welcome in or out, just freepmail me (and note which PING list you are talking about).

[nutmeg]

ping!

Please FReepmail me if you want on or off my infrequent ‘miscellaneous’ ping list.

[ride the whirlwind]

We have paid a steep price in Iraq, a thousand dead; but if you choose duty, you must choose to pay. Speaking for America, the president has said: We choose duty. What do we get in return? Nothing. Except the privilege of looking at ourselves in the mirror, and facing history and our children.

My admiration for this president continues to reach new heights. He, above all, probably is familiar with the saying that "No good deed shall go unpunished".

[lawgirl]

There is a name for the kind of hatred that applies automatically to any member of a designated group--in this case to American conservatives and especially white, religious American conservatives. The name of this hatred is racism.

YES YES YES!

[Grampa Dave]

Great oped!

Thanks for posting it.