Posted on 11/14/2006 3:45:18 AM PST by Forgiven_Sinner
The political columnist and cultural critic Mark Steyn has written a remarkable book, "America Alone: The End of the World as We Know It" (Regnery). He combines several virtues not commonly found together — humor, accurate reportage, and deep thinking — and then applies them to what is arguably the most consequential issue of our time: the Islamist threat to the West. Mr. Steyn offers a devastating thesis but presents it in bits and pieces, so I shall pull it together here.
He begins with the legacy of two totalitarianisms. Traumatized by the electoral appeal of fascism, post-World War II European states were constructed in a top-down manner,"so as to insulate almost entirely the political class from populist pressures." As a result, the establishment has "come to regard the electorate as children."
Second, the Soviet menace during the Cold War prompted American leaders, impatient with Europe's (and Canada's) weak responses, effectively to take over their defense. This benign and far-sighted policy led to victory by 1991, but it also had the unintended and less salutary side effect of freeing up Europe's funds to build a welfare state. This welfare state had several malign implications.
(Excerpt) Read more at nysun.com ...
I've got to read it.
Off to the library.
I like clear analyses like this in which all the little things heretofore hidden in darkness are laid out in the sunlight! I feel better armed when I have more real information.
Thanks, Mark. You and David Kupelian ("The Marketing Of Evil") brighten my understanding!
I'll be devouring it in the very near future.
L
I have read the book. Most excellent read.
HST, I am reading it for the second time and taking notes.
I highly recommend the book -- it will make you think and evaluate current events in a profoundly different way.
Western Civilization is under attack as it has never been before, and the Islamic hordes are gaining ascendency.
Western Civilization, unless it suddenly develops a spine, is in deep kimchi.
Excellent article!! I read 'America Alone' two weeks ago. Article presents the condensed version of Mark Steyn's book. It covers all the high points.
Echoing the sentiments of another Daniel.
Daniel 12
1 And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people: and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time: and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book.
2 And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.
3 And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever.
10 Many shall be purified, and made white, and tried; but the wicked shall do wickedly: and none of the wicked shall understand; but the wise shall understand.
11 And from the time that the daily sacrifice shall be taken away, and the abomination that maketh desolate set up, there shall be a thousand two hundred and ninety days.
12 Blessed is he that waiteth, and cometh to the thousand three hundred and five and thirty days.
Excellent article!! I read 'America Alone' two weeks ago.
#####
Do you think that it is a book that would have any impact on person who lives a very conservative life but who thinks I am wrong to be a Republican? I would love to give it for Christmas gifts if it would be received with a reasonably open mind.
I just put a hold on it at my library. I am #2 in the queue to read it. They have ordered the book but it is not available yet. I hope I hear from them soon.
". . . new Dark Ages . . . a planet on which much of the map is re-primitivized."
INDEED! Western Civilization is at war with a 7th Century death cult, and yet we have "leaders" who refer to Islam as a "Religion of Peace?"
America really is the world's last best hope. We will need pragmatic and far-seeing leadership if we are to survive. Who will that (those) leader (leaders) be?
I sure don't see a Churchill among our current leaders.
Lotta Chamberlains, not a Churchill to be seen or heard FRom!
Any ideas who will assume the mantle of leadership now that DubYah has blown it?
[I like President Bush -- I think he has good instincts but has been led astray by evil Inside the Evil Beltway "movers and shakers" -- people whose only interest in life is taking advantage of others (US, MAINLY!) to line their own pockets. And, he has been under tremendous, enormous pressure FRom the RINOs, the Dumbocrats and the Drive By Media right FRom the get-go to capitulate to the forces of evil. Now that the forces of evil have triumphed, we are in for one HELLOFARIDE these next two years.]
How ironic. I was studying the book of Daniel when you posted your comment.
Here's the verse I think applies to the Arabs and the Europeans:
from NIV: Daniel 11: 40 "At the time of the end the king of the South will engage him in battle, and the king of the North will storm out against him with chariots and cavalry and a great fleet of ships. He will invade many countries and sweep through them like a flood. 41 He will also invade the Beautiful Land. Many countries will fall, but Edom, Moab and the leaders of Ammon will be delivered from his hand. 42 He will extend his power over many countries; Egypt will not escape. 43 He will gain control of the treasures of gold and silver and all the riches of Egypt, with the Libyans and Nubians in submission. 44 But reports from the east and the north will alarm him, and he will set out in a great rage to destroy and annihilate many. 45 He will pitch his royal tents between the seas at [f] the beautiful holy mountain. Yet he will come to his end, and no one will help him."
The king of the north, refers to a European/neo-Roman dictator (the Beast) and the king of the South, some Caliphate. But I've been wrong before.
He speaks clearly, humorously, and shows his intellectual superiority in every sentence.
The Islamic hordes are getting lots of help from the leftist euroweenies and our very own leftists, in congress and in the media.
new entry in lexicon? not bad
After reading this article, I believe this book will have to go on the Christmas list for me. I rarely read political books but this one looks like a good read. Also, I like Steyn's columns so I'm sure I will like it in a longer form.
Good post -- thank you!
"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." -Manuel II Paleologus
+* +* +*
Read later
+* +* +*
Fans of Mark Steyn may want to visit my Mark Steyn audio archive page - the link is towards the bottom of my FR page! Enjoy!
Yes, but never forget the great writer who came before him, and wrote in a similar manner. Michael Kelly, who we lost in the early days of Iraq.
I Believe
by Michael Kelly
I believe the president. I have always believed him. I believed him when he said he had never been drafted in the Vietnam War and I believed him when he said he had forgotten to mention that he had been drafted in the Vietnam War. I believed him when he said he hadn't had sex with Gennifer Flowers and I believe him now, when he reportedly says he did.
I believe the president did not rent out the Lincoln Bedroom, did not sell access to himself and the vice president to hundreds of well-heeled special pleaders and did not supervise the largest, most systematic money-laundering operation in campaign finance history, collecting more than $3 million in illegal and improper donations. I believe that Charlie Trie and James Riady were motivated by nothing but patriotism for their adopted country.
I believed Vice President Gore when he said that he had made dunning calls to political contributors "on a few occasions" from his White House office, and I believed him when he said that, actually, "a few" meant 46. I believe in no controlling legal authority.
I believe Bruce Babbitt when he says that the $286,000 contributed to the DNC by Indian tribes opposed to granting a casino license to rival tribes had nothing to do with his denial of the license. I believed the secretary when he said that he had not been instructed in this matter by then-White House deputy chief of staff Harold Ickes. I believed him when he said later that he had told lobbyist and friend Paul Eckstein that Ickes had told him to move on the casino decision, but that he had been lying to Eckstein. I agree with the secretary that it is an outrage that anyone would question his integrity.
I believe in the Clinton Standard of adherence to the nation's campaign finance and bribery laws, enunciated by the president on March 7, 1997: "I don't believe you can find any evidence of the fact that I had changed government policy solely because of a contribution." I note with approval the use of the word "evidence" and also the use of the word "solely." I believe that it is proper to change government policy to address the concerns of people who have given the president money, as long as nobody can find evidence of this being the sole reason.
I believe the president has lived up to his promise to preside over the most ethical administration in American history. I believe that indicted former agriculture secretary Mike Espy did not accept $35,000 in illegal favors from Tyson Foods and other regulated businesses. I believe that indicted former housing secretary Henry Cisneros did not lie to the FBI and tell others to lie to cover up $250,000 in blackmail payments to his former mistress. I believe that convicted former associate attorney general Webster Hubbell was not involved in the obstruction of justice when the president's minions arranged for Hubbell to receive $400,000 in sweetheart consulting deals at a time when he was reneging on his promise to cooperate with Kenneth Starr's Whitewater investigation.
I believe Paula Jones is a cheap tramp who was asking for it. I believe Kathleen Willey is a cheap tramp who was asking for it. I believe Monica Lewinsky is a cheap tramp who was asking for it.
I believe Lewinsky was fantasizing in her 20 hours of taped conversation in which she reportedly detailed her sexual relationship with the president and begged Linda Tripp to join her in lying about the relationship. I believe that any gifts, correspondence, telephone calls and the 37 post-employment White House visits that may have passed between Lewinsky and the president are evidence only of a platonic relationship; such innocent intimate friendships are quite common between middle-aged married men and young single women, and also between presidents of the United States and White House interns.
I see nothing suspicious in the report that the president's intimate, Vernon Jordan, arranged a $40,000-per-year job for Lewinsky shortly after she signed but before she filed an affidavit saying she had not had sex with the president. Nor do I read anything into the fact that the ambassador to the United Nations, Bill Richardson, visited Lewinsky at the Watergate to offer her a job. I believe the instructions Lewinsky gave Tripp informing her on how to properly perjure herself in the Willey matter simply wrote themselves.
I believe that The Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times, The New York Times, Newsweek, Time, U.S. News & World Report, ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN, PBS and NPR are all part of a vast right-wing conspiracy. Especially NPR.
I wrote a letter to Mr. Kelly's mom and got a lovely note back. It was a heartbreaking loss and we are all the poorer without his voice.
+* +* +*
Read later
+* +* +*
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.