One of the best posts that I have read on Free Republic. It deserves wider exposure.
“They need a confrontation that doesn’t end in words.”
They are already locking people who express non-liberal opinions up, or fining them, for merely dissenting from liberalism.
In western countries. Without a peep of protest from their fellow liberals. That tells you everything you need to know about where liberalism is heading, and where its heart is.
Just because Islamists vote doesn't mean they believe in democratic traditions. Once they get enough power, then it's time for Sharia.
Like those Islamist politicians, once liberals become powerful enough, they stop pretending to care about 'free speech' and worry about 'correct speech'. "Yes, yes, freedom of expression was a wonderful thing," said the liberal/Islamic extremists, settling in their thrones. "It allowed the truth of our beliefs to rise to the top. Now that they have risen, it's time for all of you to get with the program. Your previous ideas are quaint but no longer necessary."
The problem is, somewhere along the way, we lost the will to machine gun people who threatened our freedoms. There's plenty of opposing viewpoints in life than you can negotiate with. Those that want to slip chains on your neck are not among them. We need a resurgence of faith in our own ideals, one strong enough to reassure the potential slave-masters that we mean business. They knew that, once.
Tyrants, big and small, need to meet violent resistance from time to time, or they'll begin to encroach. We need to get the faith back in our hearts that slaying people who would steal our liberty is perfectly justified, and outright mandatory, to keep our system alive. That's a bit of a different topic, though. ;-)